Stories for February 2011

Monday, February 28

Residents of the small north-central Arkansas town of Greenbrier say they are unsettled by the fact that they never know if or when the next earthquake is going to strike, especially after a 4.7 magnitude quake — the largest to hit the state in 35 years.

A Russellville doctor convicted of orchestrating a bombing attack on the chairman of the State Medical Board will spend the rest of his life in prison, a federal judge ordered Monday. Mann was also given a $100,000 fine with restitution to be figured later.

The patent system hasn't changed much since 1952 when Sony was coming out with its first pocket-size transistor radio, and bar codes and Mr. Potato Head were among the inventions patented. Now, after years of trying, Congress may be about to do something about that.

With residents shouting “Free, free Libya,” anti-government rebels who control this battlescarred city nearest to the capital deployed tanks and anti-aircraft weapons Sunday to brace for an attack by troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. The Obama administration offered “any type of assistance” to Libyans seeking to oust the longtime leader.

The occupation of the Wisconsin Capitol by protesters fighting efforts to strip public workers of union-bargaining rights carried on Sunday after police decided not to forcibly remove demonstrators and end a nearly two-week-long sit-in.

The King’s Speech was crowned best picture Sunday at an Academy Awards ceremony as precise as a state coronation, the monarchy drama leading as expected with four Oscars and predictable favorites claiming acting honors.

Jorge Rafael Videla and Reynaldo Bignone, former Argentine dictators, face life sentences if convicted in the kidnapping of 34 children in what prosecutors say was a systematic plan to steal the babies of political prisoners between 1976-83.

The Last Airbender — the action fantasy about people who can command fire, air, water and earth — led Saturday’s Razzie awards for Hollywood’s worst film achievements with five prizes, among them worst picture, worst director and worst screenplay for M. Night Shyamalan.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I suspect they’re going to try to wait as long as possible, so people will leave because they’re hungry.” Jon Hain, a Madison, Wis., coffee-shop owner, who said police were no longer allowing protesters to bring in large amounts of food and drink Article, 1A

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We are really suffering for 42 years, and people are asking here for the same things as other people of the world — they want the real democracy.” Ahmed El-Hadi Remeh, an engineer standing in a square in Zawiya, Libya Article, 1A

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 28, 1911 A special car, which is advertised as the “Boys’ Corn Club Corn and Hog Special,” is to be run over the lines of the Rock Island and branch roads west of this city, starting March 10, as a “follow up” of the “Diversified Farming Special,” which was run through the state a few weeks ago.

Dorris Ann Ozkan of Little Flock knows firsthand about the “Grandma Scam,” but she caught on before getting snagged in the crime designed to tug on both the heartstrings and the purse strings — and scam money from unsuspecting grandparents.

Here’s a thought: Maybe Madison, Wis., isn’t Cairo after all. Maybe it’s Baghdad—specifically, Baghdad in 2003, when the Bush administration put Iraq under the rule of officials chosen for loyalty and political reliability rather than experience and competence.

An apocryphal story holds that Franklin Roosevelt once said of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza, “He’s an S.O.B., but he’s our S.O.B.” While the history behind the purported statement is murky, the concept it animates isn’t.

U.S. independence at risk Once again the United States has been caught by events beyond its control that are pushing up the price of motor fuels that we all pay. This will have a negative effect upon our economic recovery as most of us will have less money to spend on things that are not motor fuels.

Two accidents slowed traffic on Interstate 540 near Springdale on Saturday evening. According to the Arkansas State Police, a motorcycle driven by Lucas Pyle, 34, of Fayetteville went out of control and struck a parked car on the shoulder of the interstate at 6:32 p.m. Saturday as Pyle attempted to avoid a collision with another car.

SUN BELT EVANSVILLE 3, ARKANSAS STATE 2 JONESBORO — Arkansas State (2-6 ) fell to Evansville (2-4 ) in the final game of a three-game series at Tomlinson Stadium, losing two out of three to the Purple Aces.

REPUBLICAN members of the quorum court in Washington County voted not to appropriate $1.05 million tax dollars for a new animal shelter. This majority on the court refused to give their go-ahead without more due diligence anyway. How refreshing!

It’s very rare for me to return to a product for a second look. In fact, I can only recall one time, when a charger I tested didn’t work the first time, so I tested a replacement. This week, I’m returning to a product to test it again.

PHILLIES
Knee bothering Utley
Philadelphia Phillies All-Star second baseman Chase Utley has patella tendinitis in his right knee and missed his second consecutive game Sunday. Utley had a magnetic resonance imaging scan on Saturday.

The Tango Fire Company of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Their latest production is “Tango Inferno: The Fire Within.” The troupe features 10 dancers, a young singer and a musical quartet. The performance traces the history of the tango.

BASKETBALL
Collen to speak at Downtown Tip-Off Club Arkansas women’s Coach Tom Collen will speak at the weekly meeting of the Downtown Tip-Off Club today at noon at the Wyndham Riverfront hotel in North Little Rock.

Arkansas’ 57-55 victory over Auburn on Saturday marked the first time in eight years the Razorbacks won when scoring fewer than 60 points. Arkansas had lost 35 consecutive games — including six this season — in which it scored less than 60 points since the Razorbacks beat No. 20 Mississippi State 53-51 on March 1, 2003 at Walton Arena.

Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 17 points and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their cushion over Oklahoma City in the Western Conference standings by beating the Thunder 90-87 on Sunday.

62-year-old notches 2 more KO’s Two would-be thieves in central Sweden got an unexpected lesson in respecting their elders when they failed to heed a warning issued by the 62-year-old target of their crime.

BASEBALL
Hall of Fame OF Snider dies Duke Snider, the Hall of Fame center fielder who helped the Dodgers bring their elusive and only World Series crown to Brooklyn, died early Sunday in Escondido, Calif., of natural causes. He was 84. Snider hit.295 with 407 career home runs, played in the World Series six times and won two titles.

An Arkansas bridge of the same design as a bridge that collapsed four years ago in Minnesota and that has been posted with lower weight limits until it can be replaced doesn’t have the problems that led to the 2007 tragedy, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

Just weeks after regulators approved the last of nine multibillion-dollar solar thermal power plants to be built in the Southern California desert, a storm of lawsuits and the resurgence of an older solar technology are clouding the future of the nascent industry.

Ireland’s opposition parties have made big gains in a general election focused on the country’s economic woes, but the shape of the next government hung in the balance as counting continued for a second day Sunday.

Thomas Rosch, one of two Republicans on the five-member Federal Trade Commission, says he would support an examination into whether there is fair competition among Internet search companies, a field dominated by Google Inc.

International students at the University of Arkansas account for about one-third of the $75.1 million economic impact of foreign scholars statewide, according to a November report by a nonprofit that focuses on international education.

The Little Rock Marathon is known for its hills, which are crowded by cheering spectators who believe that’s where their racing friends need the most support. Few line up along the section of the 26.2-mile route where racers are likely to face their toughest challenge Sunday.

JACKFORK/RABBIT RIDGE TRAILS, PINNACLE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK Location: Visitor Center is 2.6 miles west of Interstate 430 on Cantrell Road, then 5.1 miles north on Pinnacle Valley Road. Follow signs to Visitor Center. Trailhead is on the south side of the lower Visitor Center parking lot.

Everyone has a pair of feet, but women have an additional pair of something to worry about while exercising. And they’re every bit as tricky to fit, control and protect, which is why bras are beginning to rival shoes as the most technical of all sporting apparel.

Stretching was first introduced to many of us through our physical education instructors in elementary school or junior high. Back then all we were taught was that you must hold a stretching position for a long time.

DEAR REV. GRAHAM: What will we look like when we get to heaven? Will we wear white robes, for example, like I’ve heard some people say? And will we be able to recognize each other? I’ve always been curious about this. — R.W.

U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said Sunday that he’s “confident” Senate Democrats and House Republicans will reach an agreement on a two-week spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown.

1. According to mythology, why did Aegeus, king of Athens, drown himself? 2. Name the capital of South Carolina. 3. In zoology, what does “unguis” mean? 4. Who is director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ?

DEAR HELOISE: I’m responding to a previous column about mailing hints and wanted to add a comment. Please have your readers be careful when using cereal or cracker boxes for mailing or shipping. I have owned a private mail and shipping center for more than 23 years, and there are some things your readers should be aware of.

Do you love to watch fame-seeking strangers declare their love on national television? Do you get a thrill from watching low-level celebrities learn to figure skate? If so, the On TV Contest is for you.

Happy birthday. You command respect and influence others. Your professional status rises in March. April features declarations of love. May is your chance to be on stage in some way. You will sell a group on your ingenious idea or clever solution. Improvements in June make your environment attractive and peaceful. Sagittarius and Aries people are avid fans.

Bruce Allentuck wants you to know he is a regular guy. He is not a Navy SEAL. He is not a physical trainer. He is a 45-year-old married father of three, owner of a small landscaping business, resident of a pleasant middleclass neighborhood in North Potomac, Md.

Sixty-five civilians, including 40 children, were killed in a NATO assault on insurgents in eastern Afghanistan earlier this month, according to findings of an Afghan government investigation released Sunday.

Fayetteville senior Devin Bowers claimed his second consecutive state wrestling title, but he was hoping for a little more company on the medal stand Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

We don’t have a lot of written modern history in Fayetteville, which means that a lot of folks will make their mark upon the community and vanish without a trace. We find monuments, plaques and occasionally stone markers on street corners to men and women of some past prominence, but the names of ordinary men and women who rose up among us in times of political or moral crisis are often lost to us.

To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, the Benton County Daily Record is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.

If a teenager in Washington County skips school too many times, he could end up in jail. This is the first school year for Truancy Court, modeled after a similar program in Faulkner County, said David Hogue, deputy prosecutor for Washington County. It deals with students ages 13 to 17 who frequently miss school, he said.

Water officials hope an education program used in Northwest Arkansas schools will help future generations make the right decisions about preserving the area’s main source of drinking water — Beaver Lake. The program, called Building Blocks to Water Education, is a project of Beaver Water District.

A three-month man-hunt for a former Washington County deputy accused of rape ended in Tahlequah, Okla., on Friday. U.S. Marshals spokesman Dewaine Allen said Gary Wilson, 42, of Fayetteville was arrested by deputies in connection with a felony rape warrant.

City policymakers are nearing a decision on a new ordinance advocates say will protect waterways from pollution while critics argue it intrudes on property rights. The ordinance, referred to as the streamside protection ordinance, is backed by Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s administration and will be read for a third and final time at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

County employees will be asked to resist the temptation to text on the job. County Judge Bob Clinard said he plans to ask administrators and department heads to remind employees county time and cell phones shouldn’t be used for personal business, including texting.

Consumers like Carrie Perrien Smith of Rogers wonder if they can afford the cost of a recovering economy given the hefty jump in food and commodity prices in recent months. Smith spent $220 last week for her usual basket of groceries, noting 18 months ago those same basic goods cost her roughly $140.

Congratulations to the University of Arkansas, which is now among the 108 higher education institutions out of 4,633 in the nation to be granted the highest designation given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The Hog basketball program is in the toilet. Go ahead and flush it. Take it all the way down and rebuild. They could be no worse off. John Pelphrey is banking on three 18-yearold kids to resurrect the program. It’s not going to happen. There may be two kids on this roster that good college programs would desire to have. These boys do not possess a tough, inyour-face attitude.

State Treasurer Martha Shoffner, who once defended her right to drive a tax-free state-funded vehicle for personal use, no longer drives a state car. “She’s waiting on the court rulings,” said Shoffner’s chief deputy, Karla Shepard. Two lawsuits are pending in Pulaski County Circuit Court regarding the use of state vehicles by elected officials and state employees.

The Libyan regime handed out guns to civilian supporters, set up checkpoints Saturday and sent armed patrols roving the capital to try to maintain control of Moammar Gadhafi’s stronghold and quash dissent as rebels consolidated control elsewhere in the North African nation.

In a major setback to Iran’s nuclear program, technicians will have to unload fuel from the country’s first atomic power plant because of an unspecified safety concern, a senior government official said.

Thousands of people took part in rallies in support of unions around the nation Saturday, including in the Wisconsin capital, where a political stalemate between the Republican governor and Democratic legislators over curtailing the power of unions led to similar battles in other states in the past week.

Cara Osborne first visited Haiti in March, eight weeks after the 7.0 earthquake ravaged the Caribbean nation. The capital city of Port-au-Prince looked like the set for a post-apocalyptic movie, she recalled, with rubble everywhere and people living in the streets.

The atrium and hallways of the Clarion Inn in Fayetteville were transformed into “backstage” space Feb. 19 as dancers prepared for the sixth annual “So You Think You Know How to Dance?” Young competitors gathered in groups, anxiously awaiting their turn on stage. Their costumes hinted at the range of dance styles showcased — tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern, pointe, lyrical, ballroom, African and Hawaiian.

Hundreds of veterans and their family members bought engraved bricks for a walkway to honor Scott County veterans. But more than five years later, the monument outside Memorial Hall still hasn’t been built.

Michelle Shepherd from Rogers and Jill Ivey from Fayetteville are part of a team of chemical engineering students at the University of Arkansas College of Engineering whose research project will be featured on the Planet Forward Earth Day special. T

Killer receives life sentence FORT SMITH — James Aaron Miller was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a Sebastian County Circuit Court jury deliberated his fate for more than three hours Friday night.

Arkansas blood banks say they’re mostly or fully recovered from the donation interruptions wrought by this season’s wintry weather, thanks in part to catch-up drives staged after rapid thawing of snow and ice.

Mardi Gras has been celebrated for 20 years in Fayetteville, evolving from a one-night bar crawl, to a series of events, including the Fat Saturday Parade of Fools and the second-line celebration at City Hospital known as the Parade of Pearls.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “There’s some [people] down here that need to go plant a garden or something.” Barbara Hawkins, one of two committee members overseeing the building of a Scott County monument, on residents growing impatient with the progress of the project Article, 1B

A district judge set bail for developer Wayne Watkins at $106,910.20 Thursday, but Watkins will remain in the Sharp County jail at least through the weekend pending a circuit court hearing scheduled for Monday.

It is good to remember that the Academy Awards are an election, and subject to all the little corruptions of the heart and intellect to which all such contests are subject. Why do you vote for one candidate over another? Maybe because you perceive qualities which make him more fit for office than the other choices, or you feel he better represents your interests.

A 57-year-old Little Rock man who helped murder his wife’s mother was in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Friday to fight efforts to force him to surrender about $5,000, money that he said was a gift from his mother.

To celebrate five years of youthful summer singing and dancing workshops, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is taking a winter pause for a look back at some of the greatest hits — so to speak — of the Summer Musical Theater Intensive.

Polesitter Kyle Busch dominated early and held off Carl Edwards late for the Nationwide Series’ first wire-to-wire victory in eight years Saturday, setting up the chance for a perfect weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

Adele 21 Columbia A- The big-voiced, older-sounding-than-her-years soulful British singer Adele won two Grammys in 2009, including Best New Artist. While other Brit soulsters have stumbled (Amy Winehouse, Duffy), Adele has kept her focus on this captivating release of songs about cheating, jealousy, love and heartbreak.

Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams had a good day running and catching, while Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett defended himself against recent criticism of his character on Saturday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

DEAR CAROLYN: Are high-drama relationships ever good ones? My boyfriend and I usually have a huge argument every couple of weeks (not disagreements, but fights where we yell at each other). Is this normal? Most of my friends are in a similar type of relationship, too.

Prairie Grove and Shiloh Christian will have to settle for a stalemate this year — unless they meet again for the Class 4A state championship, Prairie Grove held Shiloh Christian without a field goal for almost 17 minutes Saturday night en route to a 42-22 victory in the championship game of the Class 4A North Region tournament at George S. Jones Gymnasium.

Happy birthday. You’ll set some mighty powerful intentions, and this will inspire you to stretch into the new year. Special training or studies in March will help you increase your income. April brings the completion of a fulfilling personal project.

Dad flies in to see sons win Tanner Mann was trudging off the Jack Stephens Center floor after watching one of his Little Rock Central teammates lose a match in the Arkansas state high school wrestling tournament Friday night when he heard someone call out his middle name.

GOLF First Tee hosts rules seminar PGA master professional Adam Carney says the average golfer can save three strokes a round just by knowing the rules of the game. “That’s a professional opinion,” the former club professional at Big Creek Country Club in Mountain Home said.

Several days before a state auditor and a lawmaker lauded Arkansas lottery officials for fixing problems cited in an audit, the director of the lottery and one of its vice presidents each wrote a check for $350.90 to reimburse the lottery for airfare for a March 2010 trip.

Col. Archie Frye flew his first C-130 cargo plane last week in preparation for commanding Detachment 1, a new Air Force Reserve unit being built from scratch to ease the growing pains at Little Rock Air Force Base.

At a wine-tasting event in Mount Dora, Fla., we met a couple enjoying a glass of merlot while their Shar-Pei tagged along. In that central Florida town, you can take Fido to lunch, and stop by the pet bakery.

Amy Valle is caught in a labormarket recovery that’s forcing some Americans to settle for less. Before she lost her job as a full-time health-department caseworker in November, she was making $23 an hour. Now she’s paid $10 an hour as a part-time assistant coordinator in an after-school program.

The building amazes. It is enormous, 120 feet in diameter, with a ceiling five stories high. It took 100,000 palm fronds to cover the roof, even though the center remains open to the sky, tepee-style. At first sight, all you can do is stand in awe.

Long before award-winning illustrator and writer Maurice Sendak’s world of wild things charmed millions of young readers and changed the notion of what children’s literature could look like, some of his now-classic characters frolicked on a wall overlooking New York’s Central Park for an audience of two.

$800,000 awarded in scholarships More than $800,000 in college scholarships have been awarded to date to about 350 Little Rock School District high school graduates who as young children attended “racially identifiable” elementary schools for three or more years.

In a deal that could be worth billions of dollars and determine one of the primary fighter jets in Asia for decades to come, European aircraft makers are trying to persuade Japan to do something it has never done before — snub America.

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and other officials who are pushing to eliminate or weaken collective bargaining by government employees say their goal is to save millions of dollars and increase government’s flexibility to run its operations.

Sears Holdings Corp.’s appointment of a new chief executive officer rich in technology expertise but short on retail experience is leaving many wondering what direction the owner of the struggling Sears and Kmart stores is heading.

That most Southern of phrases, “a sense of place,” came up at a gathering the other evening. It elicited only a quizzical expression from one of the guests, who seemed to think it referred to her neighborhood.

Puebla, Mexico How has life in Mexico changed under the rising tide of drug violence ? It’s difficult to say; it is what it is. It goes on. For long stretches of time, it is easy to forget about the violence. But then reality breaks through, and it becomes once again impossible to ignore.

Tijuana, Mexico There are two Tijuanas: that of the locals, and that of the rest. The true Tijuana belongs only to the oldest families, the grandparents and great-grandparents of Tijuana. The view from outside, on the other hand, tends to come into focus through fantasy, stereotype and cliché.

Survivors of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship are hoping Barack Obama’s visit next month will lead to the release of more classified U.S. documents that could be critical to prosecuting the Chilean agents responsible for killing leftists decades ago.

U.S. governors are urging Congress to avert a budget fight that could shut down the federal government or slash spending for states, saying it would deal a setback to a nation struggling to recover from the recession.

The dozens of traps that Ron Francoeur pulled from frigid waters Thursday held only about 30 lobsters, but maybe it did not matter. Last year’s statewide lobster haul — some 93 million pounds, up from 81 million in 2009 — was the largest on record. And Francoeur allowed that he had shared in the bounty.

“All successful newspapers are ceaselessly querulous and bellicose. They never defend anyone or anything if they can help it; if the job is forced upon them, they tackle it by denouncing someone or something else.” —H.L. Mencken OH, MENCKEN. Thou should be living at this hour! Your country has need of thee!

Last month, the National Archives banned an amateur historian who was accused of doing what should have been unthinkable: He was said to have doctored the date on a valuable Lincoln document. Now the archives has found it has a more widespread problem, with underhanded “scholars” and sneak thieves making off with American treasures to sell on the black market to history buffs.

New Zealand’s premier said the Christchurch quake is lining up to be the country’s worst disaster, as officials raised the toll to 146 dead and more than 200 missing while giving a grim prognosis for the city’s downtown.

More on those CFL bulbs Allan Walker’s letter about new bulbs being better than old was very interesting. However, there are some things that should be considered. The amount of mercury is not much at all.

During the Christmas holidays a brotherin-law treated me to sorghum molasses at breakfast, recommending it highly as a dressing for hot biscuits. As I savored the distinctive but strong flavor of this tangy, dark, sweet syrup, I thought of the generations of Arkansans who considered molasses one of the three primary foods—the three M’s : meat, meal (corn meal) and molasses.

A playing field in a remote area of northwest Afghanistan where a crowd had gathered was the most recent target for a suicide bomber who detonated himself Saturday, in the seventh suicide attack in Afghanistan in less than a month.

The argument of the slippery slope yet again proves itself more reality than myth. This time the city of Fayetteville, which seldom considers a restrictive ordinance or regulation that it doesn’t like, will decide if smoking should be banned not only in city restaurants, which it was in 2004, but now—feel that slip?—in lounges, bars and pool halls.

Croatian police clashed with some of the 15,000 anti-government protesters who rallied in the capital Saturday, and state television reported that officers used tear gas to disperse the group. At least 25 people were injured.

Culiacán, Mexico Four years ago Mexico invented a civil war: the government decided to confront the seven major drug cartels. The army was sent into the streets, mountains and country paths. Even the navy was on alert.

A youth leader who backs the president clinging to power in Ivory Coast has called on people to chase out foreigners from their neighborhoods, while the U.N. expressed alarm about a “disturbing escalation” in violence in recent days.

A constitutional-overhaul panel Saturday recommended opening Egypt’s presidential elections to competition and imposing a two-term limit on future presidents in a dramatic shift from a system that allowed the ousted Hosni Mubarak to rule for three decades.

Monterrey, Mexico Invisible paths to the United States, it seems, have always passed through Monterrey. People and their merchandise come and go via paved roads and dusty lanes, but also through the famous little walkways, somewhere between manicured and overgrown, that are hidden among the thickets of underbrush.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 27, 1911 HOT SPRINGS — This resort looked like the same old town of yore today, and the liberal element rubbed their hands in glee at the vivid reminder of the “good old days,” for the “lid” went off with a joyful report, and Hot Springs passed as uneventful, yet wide open Sunday. The gambling houses have all resumed operations.

TENNIS Djokovic beats Federer Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer for the second time in a month, a 6-3, 6-3 victory Saturday for his third consecutive Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Championships title. Djokovic extended his unbeaten streak in 2011 to 12 matches with his 20th title.

Warren Buffett, 80, the billionaire investor, said in his annual letter to shareholders that his “trigger finger is itchy” for takeovers after cash holdings at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. climbed to $38.2 billion.

Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has been released from jail after serving 10 days of a 15-day sentence for a drunkendriving conviction. The Las Vegas Sun reports the 50-year-old rocker got out of the Clark County Detention Center on Friday.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We don’t need any hiccups right now in our recovery.” Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, as U.S. governors urged Congress to avert a budget fight that could shut down the federal government or slash spending for states Article, 6A

QUOTE OF THE DAY “People were waiting to take revenge on Fianna Fail, and they have certainly done so with great gusto.” Batt O’Keefe, one of 18 Fianna Fail incumbents who chose not to seek re-election, on projections that the Irish ruling party would be handily defeated Article, this page

Some 154 poultry farmers throughout Arkansas have already received their share of $17.7 million in federal relief funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state Agriculture Department said Thursday.

A spat between two Northwest Arkansas legislators over a bill regarding illegal immigrants probably is better settled privately than through new legislation, a House committee chairman said Friday. House Bill 1602, introduced Thursday by Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, would require custodians of public records to notify legislators within 24 hours when another General Assembly member seeks public documents about them. The bill would require the holder of public records to name the legislator seeking the documents.

Walmart’s latest store format will be springing up in Prairie Grove, Gravette and Gentry. The retailer plans to build 15,000-square-foot stores in each town. Gary Davis, owner of Sterling Drug in Prairie Grove, said adding new businesses is good. “The more businesses, the more traffic you get,” he said.

A Washington County jury took about an hour to find a former University of Arkansas student guilty of nine felony counts of video voyeurism Friday. The jury of 11 women and one man acquitted Leiabrently Washington, 21, of one count of video voyeurism related to taping a clothed man in a dorm study area. The other nine counts were occasions when Washington recorded men in the shower during the fall 2009 semester.

Mayor Greg Hines asked for and received Police Chief Steve Hamilton’s resignation Friday. “We talked for a few minutes and I asked for his resignation,” Hines said. “Shortly before noon, Chief Hamilton resigned, effective immediately.” Hines declined to say why he asked Hamilton to resign, but added he took no pleasure in the resignation.

A $1.1 million decorative gate will mark the entrance of what once was Campus Drive and will showcase Old Main at the University of Arkansas, thanks to a fundraising effort by the Pi Beta Phi sorority, campus officials said Friday.

The morning after Harold Eugene Johnson III was killed in his living room, suspect Jarvis Robie went to school. A student at Felder Academy in Little Rock, Robie, 15, lived two blocks from Johnson’s 2900 S. Tyler St. home. Two days after Johnson’s death, police arrested Robie at a Taco Bell where he was hanging out. In his waistband was the handgun that police believe was used in the fatal shooting, according to arrest reports.

An American CIA employee accused of murdering two Pakistanis appeared handcuffed Friday in a Pakistani court, where he refused to sign a charge sheet after claiming diplomatic immunity, officials said.

Financial adviser, outdoorsman and community leader David Thrasher was honored Friday as the winner of the Dick Trammel Rogers Good Neighbor Award. The announcement was made at the annual Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce banquet.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, who arrived in Washington on Friday for the National Governors Association’s annual winter meeting, contrasted his situation with that of many of his fellow state executives, who he said are “pulling their hair out,” as they try to grapple with large budget shortfalls and vexing policy disputes.

An overturned fuel tanker on Interstate 30 forced Arkansas State Police to close the highway for 10 1/2 hours Friday while the leaking truck was emptied of at least 1,500 gallons of gasoline and the highway was cleared of debris.

The next several months will be busy for downtown Bentonville. The city will welcome three restaurants and a coffee house, in addition to celebrating the opening of the Walmart Visitors Center and the return of First Fridays, all before summer’s end.

Voters want all school construction to be as cost-effective as possible, according to the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. Voters also recognize the need for more classrooms to prevent overcrowding, said Chris Weiser, chamber chairman.

I went to the League of Women Voters forum on the streamside ordinance scheduled to be taken up by the Fayetteville City Council in February. This is a very immoral law that could only arise in a degraded and declining society that has lost the natural healthy sense of right and wrong and has accepted the rule of force with no regard to whether or not there is any righteousness and integrity behind it.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 26, 1911 Little Rock has enjoyed a number of exciting elections during this, the open season, including the primaries, the queen’s contest and other kinds, but the genuine dyed-in-the-wool, real exciting event of all has just been announced, the bachelors’ contest. This will be similar to the queen’s contest now in progress, and will be conducted by Robert C. Newton camp of the United Confederate Veterans. It has been predicted that there will be such a battle of ballots as has never been before witnessed in this city.

In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall know the glory of the Lord, because God has heard your grumbling against the Lord.” —Exodus 16:6b-7 a I’ve been hearing a lot of grumbling these days. There was grumbling about all the snow and cold weather we had. There’s been grumbling about the economy and whose fault it is, and whether governmental bailouts were a waste of taxpayers’ money.

A Pulaski County circuit judge ruled Friday that he does not have the authority to determine whether the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s chief legal counsel lied in court during proceedings to determine whether the agency was required to hold the fall 2009 turkey-hunting season.

IT CONFIRMED one of our favorite theories about the principles or at least practice of journalism today: that the most interesting paragraph in new stories tends to be the last. As if the writers, or maybe their editors, were saving the best for last—like dessert.

Back off of smokers I hope they pass this no-smoking deal they are trying to get through in Fayetteville. It will save me a lot of money on gas to drive downtown, won’t have to tip anymore, and the beer is cheaper at my house.

Protesters demanding Moammar Gadhafi’s ouster came under a hail of bullets Friday when pro-regime militiamen opened fire to stop the first significant anti-government marches in days in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The Libyan leader, speaking from the ramparts of a historic Tripoli fort, told supporters to prepare to defend the nation.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly took the first significant action on their plan to strip collective-bargaining rights from most public workers, abruptly passing the measure early Friday morning before most sleep deprived Democrats realized what was happening.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in one of his last addresses to the Army, said Friday that he envisages a future ground force that will be smaller, pack less heavy firepower and will not engage in large-scale counterinsurgency wars like those in Iraq or Afghanistan.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’ve been talking about gates, but we never had the money before.” G. David Gearhart, University of Arkansas chancellor, on a fundraising effort by the Pi Beta Phi sorority to fund a $1.1 million decorative gate on the Fayetteville campus Article, 1B

A mysterious beating death last summer in an abandoned southwest Little Rock mobile home was linked Thursday to a violent document-trafficking ring based in Mexico that authorities say has cells in 11 states, including Arkansas.

Hundreds of thousands of people poured out of mosques and staged protests across the Arab world Friday, some trying to shake off autocratic rulers and others pressuring leaders to carry out sweeping changes.

George W. Bush will not go to Denver as planned this weekend to attend the “Global Leadership Summit” of the Young Presidents’ Organization because WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was also invited to the event, a spokesman for the former president said.

CBS and Warner Brothers have decided to shut down production of the hit comedy Two and a Half Men, the companies said Thursday, after star Charlie Sheen attacked the creator of the show, Chuck Lorre, in two interviews.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “What a terrible, terrible day for Wisconsin. I am incensed. I am shocked.” State Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, after Assembly Republicans passed a measure to strip collective-bargaining rights from most public workers before most Democrats had a chance to vote Article, 1A

Auburn has lowered seating capacity, but increased the volume in its new basketball home. “It’s a much better atmosphere they have now than what they had in the other arena for sure,” said Mississippi State Coach Rick Stansbury, whose Bulldogs lost at Auburn 65-62 two weeks ago. “Everything’s just closer, and you’ve got people on the floor around you.”

At the University of Arkansas, the baseball and track and field teams shared the same quarters in the early 1970s. Those teams were led by coaches, Norm DeBriyn and John McDonnell, who handed down the same edict when they took the helm of those rosters: race, color and creed didn’t matter. Production trumped all.

ANGELS Morales on track TEMPE, Ariz. — First baseman Kendry Morales, whose 2010 season came to an end when he broke his leg while jumping on home plate to celebrate a game-ending grand slam, should be ready to play by opening day, Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Friday.

Seafood OK, but not bass Kevin VanDam won his fourth Bassmaster Classic title in New Orleans last Sunday and surpassed $5 million in career earnings. VanDam has been competitively fishing for about 30 years, but according to ESPN, he’s still a little fishy about his food.

FOOTBALL Jones shares blame Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is sharing responsibility with the NFL for the Super Bowl seating fiasco at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Just hours before the Green Bay Packers played the Pittsburgh Steelers Feb. 6, the league announced that 1,250 temporary seats were deemed unsafe and moved 850 people to new seats.

ATHLETICS UCA to add turf The University of Central Arkansas’ board of trustees voted Friday to spend $1 million in capital reserves on artificial turf for its football and softball fields at Estes Stadium and Farris Field, respectively.

Ex-exec ordered out of banking The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has ordered that Mark Turner, former chief lending officer at Timberland Bank in El Dorado, no longer work at any financial institution because of violations of law or unsafe banking practices.

I have an older car that I’ve kept in pretty good condition, but it’s reaching an age where fixing it with used auto parts might be a better bet than buying new parts. But I’m not sure whether this applies to all auto parts.

Q As soon as I got my dracaena corn plant home, the trunk’s leaves started dying off. I started cutting them back and before long they were all dead. Then the trunk started getting soft but stopped in a short time. What do I do now?

Table lamps, in particular, often are afterthoughts. For many, the purchase is more often pragmatic — a need for a reading light on a nightstand or next to a sofa. Yet, says lighting expert Lucy Martin, “How you light your home is as important as how you decorate it.”

“Table lamps should be big and bold wherever possible,” says lighting designer Lucy Martin. “A pair of large table lamps on each side of a sofa or on a sofa-back table will frame an elevation effectively, and will provide a much better quality of light than randomly scattered small lamps.

OK, call it a belated resolution. I’m just a tad overwhelmed by stuff, so the new year seems a fitting time for organization. There are stores dedicated to it, publications with a sole focus on it and people who make it their job to help us manage it better.

Dear Otus, From what I read in the paper, Eureka Springs and several other towns are hipdeep in wild hogs. Those are nasty, dangerous critters, so why is that lady up there leading an anti-hunting campaign ?

DEAR TOM AND RAY: For as long as I can remember, my father has known the answer to everything practical. He’s not the guy to talk to about matters of the heart, but for anything else he remains my go-to guy — with one exception.

Happy birthday. This year you will find tranquility and healing inside a peaceful relationship. Next month resolves an age-old problem. April frees up some funds so you can go on a trip. June brings an intriguing mystery for you to unravel. There’s a career shift in July. New friends come along in September.

DEAR READERS: Friendly dogs are just that, and unfriendly dogs can bite! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4 million dog bites are reported annually. Many of these bites require medical care or even reconstructive surgery. Sadly, children 5 to 9 years old are at the highest risk. What can you do to teach your children about dogs, their behavior and the fact that some bite? If a dog growls or doesn’t seem nice, it probably isn’t.

All-American Jaime Pisani and No. 15 Arkansas stayed even with No. 1 Florida for three rotations, then the Razorbacks used their best floor routine of the season to pull away for a 196.7-196.1 upset over the previously unbeaten Gators.

Secretary of State Mark Martin says four Democrats, two Republicans and an independent have filed as candidates for a seat in the state House of Representatives vacated by a former Harlem Globetrotter-turned-legislator who was found guilty in a felony theft case.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly took the first significant action on their plan to strip collective bargaining rights from most public workers, abruptly passing the measure early Friday morning before sleep-deprived Democrats realized what was happening.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Steve Womack fielded questions from both ends of the political spectrum about last weekend’s House vote to slash $60 billion in spending during a “town hall” meeting Thursday night with about 80 constituents from his 3rd Congressional District.

Rep. Justin Harris said Thursday he is not profiting off illegal immigrants at the West Fork preschool he owns. The first-term Republican said 10 to 12 students at Growing God’s Kingdom preschool lack a Social Security number, but that doesn’t mean they are in the country illegally. The state-subsidized school, which Harris and wife Marsha opened in 2003, has 158 enrolled and includes children up to age 5, he said.

The Benton County Quorum Court on Thursday approved an agreement to establish a regional HIV clinic. The Quorum Court heard the third and final reading of an ordinance establishing an interlocal agreement with Washington County setting up a board of directors to govern the Northwest Arkansas Regional HIV Clinic, formerly known as the Washington County HIV Clinic.

The Springdale Chamber of Commerce honored a resident Thursday who spent more time on the Arkansas Highway Commission than anybody. Retired Springdale businessman Bobby Hopper was named the winner of the chamber’s Civic Service award at its 89th annual banquet.

Southwest 14th Street’s widening will be finished by the end of April. The $9.2 million project, which has been ongoing since July 2008, widens the road from two lanes to five with a center turn lane, said David Nilles, spokesman with state Highway and Transportation Department.

The most recent draft of the Bentonville School District’s 2011-2012 calendar has 20 snow days built in. District officials have scrambled this year to make up 10 days used because of inclement weather.

I am a supporter of mass transit and feel that Northwest Arkansas is very far behind in providing public transit to our citizens. While our community subscribes to sustainability and conservation, we seem to be ignoring one of the most beneficial acts for any commuter: mass transit. The more cars we get off the roads, less green space will be needed for more highways and parking lots. Every bus can get 40 polluting cars off the road and give Mother Earth a breath of fresh air.

In defending his bill to allow the state to punish contractors for hiring illegal aliens, Rep. Jim Nickels said Thursday that illegals helped renovate a state office building a few hundred feet from the Capitol.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Travis J. Washabaugh graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He is the son of Roxanne and Wes Washabaugh of Fayetteville. He is a 2008 graduate of Fayetteville High School.

There is no shortage of material available about the Dalai Lama. He’s the robed man who often appears in news photos with various heads of state, among them President Barack Obama. There are plenty of books about him, too. The Tibetan religious and political leader has authored dozens of them himself, and countless more have been written about him by others. But, says Sidney Burris, director of the University of Arkansas’ Fulbright College Honors Program and an English professor, all those films and books and public appearances don’t begin to explain the Dalai Lama.

A bill that could lead to more Arkansans drinking fluoridated water cleared the Arkansas Senate on Thursday and was sent to the House of Representatives. A senator called the legislation “Big Brother government at its worst.”

Some of his songs, says satirist Roy Zimmerman, are “directly antiwar.” “But all of my songs talk about the social climate that gives rise to war.” It’s ironic, he adds, that “the two things that scare the people in power the most are peace and justice.” Those are also two of the themes regularly espoused by the Omni Center for Peace, Justice &amp; Ecology in Fayetteville and the two that will be the focus when Zimmerman performs at a sit-in and concert Wednesday evening.

A vote to elect officers for the coming year sparked a brief but heated discussion among state Parole Board members Thursday, with one member accusing another of saying that a third member “doesn’t get along with blacks.” Separately, Chairman Leroy Brownlee announced that he plans to retire June 30 after serving on the board for 21 years.

Hundreds, probably thousands, of words have been written about the deeper meanings of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.” “Art and science, man and nature, predictability and unpredictability, romanticism and classicism, intellect and passion: Stoppard lines up supposed opposites and shows how they collide and overlap.”

Northwest Arkansas audiences have seen some of Adam Douglas’ plays: “Murder and the English Gentleman: A Comedy,” “How to Survive the End of the World,” “Midnight at Wolf Howl Saloon,” “Vices.” This week, however, judges at the American College Theater Festival’s regional event in Amarillo, Texas, are considering four new plays by Douglas for advancement to the next stage of the competition, which takes place at the Kennedy Center.

Plan would raise tax on natural gas Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Tuesday that he’s rejected a proposal by former gubernatorial candidate Sheffield Nelson for a ballot initiative to raise the severance tax on natural gas.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’re going to get after it and send a message to our city fathers.” Eddie York, owner of Art’s BBQ and Grill in Fort Smith, on circulating a petition to refer the 1 percent prepared-food tax to voters Article, 1B

Arkansas voters could get the chance to decide whether to authorize two tax increases that would mean a “substantial rejuvenation” of the state’s highways and raise about $2.8 billion over a decade, House Speaker Robert S. Moore Jr. said Thursday.

CARDINALS Wainwright out JUPITER, Fla. — St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will have elbow ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow and miss the entire season. Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak confirmed the news Thursday from spring training camp.

Foreign mercenaries and Libyan militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi tried to roll back the uprising against his rule that has advanced closer to his stronghold in Tripoli, attacking two nearby cities in battles that killed at least 17 people.

A 20-year-old student from Saudi Arabia who studied chemical engineering at Texas Tech University is facing a federal charge of attempted use of a bomb against potential targets that included the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

Solid Christmas sales and improvements in its branded credit-card business helped Target’s fourth-quarter profit rise almost 11 percent, but a company official cautioned Thursday that the economy is a “wild card.”

Wisconsin state troopers were dispatched Thursday to the doorsteps of some of the AWOL Democratic senators in hopes of finding at least one who would return to allow a vote on a measure to curb the power of public-employee unions.

New this week Drive Angry R Nicolas Cage plays a convicted felon who breaks out of prison to prevent the cult that murdered his daughter from sacrificing his infant granddaughter on the night of the full moon, which will unleash hell and make the cult’s leader the most powerful man alive. With Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke, Charlotte Ross; directed by Patrick Lussier.

The death toll from the earthquake that struck Christchurch this week will likely rise as rescuers search for more than 200 missing people among the rubble of buildings brought down by the nation’s deadliest earthquake in 80 years, New Zealand authorities say.

Former President Bill Clinton warned farmers and Agriculture Department employees in Washington, D.C., against using too much corn for ethanol fuel, adding : “I think the best thing to say is we have to become energy-independent, but we don’t want to do it at the cost of food riots.” Olive Stephens, 94, is giving up politics, saying that after 48 years in municipal government, 38 of them as mayor of Shady Shores, Texas, she won’t seek a 20th term as mayor in the May municipal election.

Dozens of fans stood for hours in upper-20 s temperatures, cameras and cell phones at the ready, to watch George Clooney filming Wednesday on Cincinnati’s downtown Fountain Square. Such crowd scenes have been common over the past two months since Clooney began scouting locations and then filming the first movie he has made in the region, where he grew up.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “And now, mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for jihad.” Terror suspect Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, according to a journal entry cited in an affidavit Article, 1A

The Arkansas Supreme Court released opinions Thursday.The court’s ruling and the names of the cases are reprinted here. The full opinions and other court proceedings, including per curiam decisions, orders and submissions, can be found on the Internet at courts. state.ar.us.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 25, 1911, Now that the weather has moderated sufficiently the actual damage of the recent cold snap to the fruit crop may be definitely ascertained, and most of the growers in this section express the belief that the amount of the loss will be small. S.B. Ethridge was exhibiting two Elberta twigs here today, which showed only about one-fourth of the blooms to have been killed.

Forward Hunter Mickelson of Jonesboro Westside attracted scholarship offers from some of the top basketball programs in the nation before signing with Arkansas during the early signing period in November, but that hasn’t stopped him from working hard to improve his game.

UALR fell out of contention for a bye in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday, meaning the Trojans will face the arduous task of winning four games over four days to make the NCAA Tournament.

THE SAME, disappointing pattern continues when it comes to statements out of the White House about the turmoil in the Middle East, aka The Arab Revolt of 2011. This week what the president of the United States had to say about fast-moving events in Libya was a good deal less important than what he didn’t. He deplored the violence and terror there, but he failed to say Moammar Gadhafi, its long-time and now increasingly weak strongman, should step down.

CAIRO By telephone, I reached a family in Tripoli, Libya, with deep roots in the armed forces there, and members of the family offered some insight into what we should do to help nudge Moammar Gadhafi from power.

Unlike the Constitution, income tax hasn’t been part of our republic since the beginning. This year marks the sesquicentennial of not only the Civil War, but also the first U.S. federal income tax to help finance it.

He is demonstrably a madman, a ruthless dictator. Until recently, Moammar Gadhafi was the outcast he deserved to be. That is sadly not the case in so much of the Mideast, where for decades the United States has backed oppressors for our own convenience, making a mockery of promises to be a beacon of democracy. Time after time when it suited anti-Soviet, anti-terrorist and pro-oil needs, America sided with the bad guys.

Thanks for the help I am so proud of the sports administration department of our flagship university in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks realize that Arkansas colleges and universities are all well financed and need not play them.

Sales of new homes plummeted in January, and businesses ordered fewer long-lasting goods. But the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has fallen over the past four weeks to the lowest level in 2 1/2 years.

FOOTBALL Razorbacks RSVP deadline looming Arkansas has set a hard deadline of Tuesday for Razorback Foundation members to sign their letter of intent and make their pledges to retain their current seats for the 2011 football season. The increased-rate pledges are part of the Razorback Seat Value Plan (RSVP) launched last fall.

It’s game time again. Here are my Oscar picks, as well as the picks of our panel of especially interested Oscar watchers. (Some of these people — we’re not naming names — supplement their incomes by making Oscar picks.) We’re picking what we think will win, not what we think ought to win. Check back next week to see how we’ve done. And no gambling, please.

One of the problems with so called “faith-based” films is a measured reluctance to engage the inconvenient ironies and complications of the world at large. It is the nature of these movies to reassure rather than challenge, and while that approach might make for useful witnessing, it inhibits the dramatic potential of a story. With most of these movies, the more interesting story is how it came to be made.

At area theaters 90 ANOTHER YEAR, PG-13 Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen play a happily married suburban couple entering their autumn years who, in the course of a year, find themselves surrounded by unhappy friends.

1.What cereal grain did Christopher Columbus find in the New World in 1492 that was not known elsewhere? 2. Is life insurance paid to survivors subject to federal income tax? 3. When was the position of poet laureate of Arkansas established? 4. Mary Baker Eddy founded what religious movement in 1866?

(opening dates are tentative) The Adjustment Bureau, PG-13 Matt Damon plays a rising congressman in love with a gorgeous ballerina (Emily Blunt) but the closer they get, the harder shadowy forces work to drive them apart by altering the very fabric of time and space.

DEAR REV. GRAHAM: I didn’t grow up in a religious family and never thought much about God, but two months ago I met someone on an airplane who told me about Jesus, and I asked Him to come into my life.

Happy birthday. You have intense energy and vitality and will focus them well this year.You’ll benefit from advanced training of some kind in March. Your skillful management of funds will bring a higher degree of freedom to you and yours. In May, you will deepen your relationships through improved communication.

DEAR READERS: Here are some hints on how to take the best pictures you can: Make sure that your lens and LCD viewer screen are clean. Do not use a tissue to clean. Instead, use a microfiber cloth or eyeglass-cleaning tissue. Also, there are lenscleaning products on the market.

Boeing Co., the sole supplier of aerial refueling tankers to the U.S. Air Force since 1948, beat European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. on Thursday for a $35 billion program to build 179 new tankers, the Pentagon said.

2 Entergy plants rank in top 100 on mercury Two Entergy Arkansas facilities were among the top 100 coal-fired plants in emissions of mercury in 2009, according to nonprofit organization that seeks to protect U.S. natural resources.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Boeing’s victory was a major upset, and not at all what the industry was expecting.” Richard Aboulafia, a military aircraft analyst with the Fairfax, Va.-based Teal Group, talking about the new U.S. Air Force aerial-refueling-tanker contract Article, 1D

Stocks closed mixed Thursday as concerns continued over how violent clashes in Libya would affect the global oil market. Major indexes pared steeper losses in the afternoon after oil prices fell for the first time in nine days.

Some 11,500 years ago one of America's earliest families laid the remains of a 3-year-old child to rest in their home in what is now Alaska. The discovery of that burial is shedding new light on the life and times of the early settlers who crossed from Asia to the New World, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

The NCAA says both Tennessee basketball Coach Bruce Pearl and former football Coach Lane Kiffin committed recruiting violations and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance of NCAA rules within their programs.

In a change of course, President Barack Obama has decided that a law denying federal recognition of same-sex marriages is unconstitutional and the U.S. will no longer defend it in court, the White House announced Wednesday.

Information for the obituaries and funeral notices below was supplied to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Advertising Department by funeral homes. For more information including cost and deadlines contact the advertising department at (501) 378-3889.

RANGERS Young leaves camp
Michael Young is leaving the Texas Rangers — for a couple of days, anyway. The team said Wednesday that the veteran infielder will leave spring training camp to attend to unspecified “family matters.”

Oil surged to $100 a barrel in New York for the first time since 2008 on Wednesday as Libya’s violent uprising threatened to disrupt exports and spread to other Middle East oil producers, analysts said.

Empty the mind. Let the distractions of the day fall away. Listen. God is waiting. That, in a nutshell, is centering prayer, a contemplative practice rooted in the ancient Christian church and one Pastor Tom Ward will share during a workshop in Little Rock.

Best-selling author and Bible teacher Sheila Walsh wants women to know that just because she’s famous, that doesn’t mean her life is perfect. She’s had her share of ups and downs and she hopes her story will inspire others during a women’s conference March 4 and 5 at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

Diana Gonzalez lives in an encampment of grimy tents and overstuffed shopping carts in an alley less than three miles from Disneyland. Her life is a world apart from the fairy tales of the “Happiest Place on Earth.” For Gonzalez, mundane details such as the hours of the public restrooms at the community park down the street are obsessions necessary for survival.

Companies reporting quarterly earnings Wednesday included: DirecTV Group Inc., the nation’s largest satellite TV operator, a profit of $618 million, or 74 cents a share, up from a loss of $32 million, or 3 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 11 percent to $6.62 billion. Shares rose 80 cents to close at $45.03.

The Legislature must come up with $23.5 million to pay state employees’ a 27th pay period next year — up from the usual 26 — the state Department of Finance and Administration revealed in a request to legislators Wednesday.

Construction should finally begin next month on the Bella Vista Bypass in Northwest Arkansas after the state Highway Commission on Wednesday tentatively awarded a $19.8 million contract for the first segment of the project.

Pakistan’s ISI spy agency is ready to split with the CIA because of its frustration over what it calls heavyhanded pressure, according to an internal document obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with U.S. and Pakistani officials.

Geek squad wins, ends 26-year skid Caltech, a small research school in Pasadena that is best known as the home of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, snapped a 310-game conference losing streak on Tuesday night with a 46-45 victory over Occidental.

FOOTBALL
Foster has surgery A person with knowledge of the procedure said Houston Texans Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster, the NFL’s leading rusher in 2010, has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

A team without a tourney When discussing his 25th season as Arkansas-Fort Smith women’s basketball Coach, Louis Whorton doesn’t sound like a man whose season was derailed before it began and will end long before it should.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 24, 1911 With a view toward furthering the movement toward beautifying the city of Little Rock, the City Beautiful Association is mailing a circular letter asking the active co-operation of the various organizations of the city in the work. The letter contains a copy of the resolution unanimously adopted February 11 at a mass meeting of the civic fraternal, commercial and religious organizations of Little Rock at the Chamber of Commerce.

Why turn back the clock? When you think of advancements for mankind the last couple of centuries, the internal combustion engine comes to mind. So does the telephone, the combine and, oh, yes, electricity. Where would we be without these wonderful inventions?

Pirates in Somalia said Wednesday that they are ferrying ammunition and men to the 30 hijacked vessels still under their control, and they threatened to kill more captives after the violent end to a hostage standoff that left four Americans dead.

IT ISN’T T.E. Lawrence’s revolt in the desert, leading a hodgepodge of Arab tribes across the desert in the Arab revolt against the Turks in the World War, Act I. That was the stuff of which legend was made. And myth.

Nothing more clearly illustrates the utter irresponsibility of Barack Obama than his advocacy of “high-speed rail.” The man is not stupid. He knows how to use words that will sound wonderful to people who do not bother to stop and think.

Now that the euphoria has started to die down, it’s time for a cold look at Egypt after its people’s victory over dictatorship. President Hosni Mubarak has left power, and the ruling military council promises elections in about six months. That is not a lot of time to change many minds. As a result, there is a good chance that the new Egypt will not resemble what advocates of democracy—in Egypt and abroad—had envisioned for the country’s future.

HOT SPOTS 1. LAKE CATHERINE Quality rainbow trout from 12-16 inches are being caught daily. Spin fishermen have caught fish at will during periods of generation with Super Dupers in white or silver around sand bars and rock piles.

The Supreme Court opened the auto industry to new lawsuits over seat-belt design, ruling that a Mazda Motor Corp. unit must defend against claims pressed by the family of a woman killed while riding in the back of a minivan.

FOOTBALL
UCA signs two players Central Arkansas completed its 2011 recruiting class Wednesday, signing linebacker Zach Bush of Denton, Texas, and defensive end Jonathon Woodward of Brentwood, Tenn. Bush, 6-3, 190 pounds, had 109 tackles, including four tackles for loss, at Denton Guyer High School as a senior and helped lead the school to the Texas Class 5A state championship game.

The slow road back for Tiger Woods took another detour Wednesday when he followed a clutch birdie with a awful tee-shot into the desert and lost to Thomas Bjorn in the first round of the Match Play Championship.

DEAR CAROLYN: I am planning a wedding. My parents are not working and I have felt I would be paying for my own wedding for a while. I’m a successful professional. My fiance, however, is put off that they are not paying and has made several comments.

DEAR REV. GRAHAM: My wife and I never did get along very well, so when she died I thought it wouldn’t bother me. But now I think about her all the time, and I miss her terribly. I wish I could tell her I’m sorry, because I know most of it was my fault. Why do I feel so bad? — D.T.

The European Union will look today for a clear sign from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that Russia will adopt the economic changes necessary to join the World Trade Organization this year, ending almost two decades of negotiations.

Happy birthday. You’ll get a public forum in which to communicate your ideas and put them into practice. Mental pursuits ignite your energy. You could simultaneously succeed at more than one career, making you the envy of your friends. Your love life will be fun-filled in July and August. September brings a glamorous adventure. Cancer and Taurus people adore you.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, believing he was talking to prominent financial backer David Koch, revealed to a Buffalo, N.Y., blogger Tuesday his strategies to deal with public-sector unions and to lure Democrats boycotting the Senate back to Wisconsin.

1.The parka, a weatherproof coat with a furry hood, was originally a garment worn by what people? 2. Within 20 years, how much time passed between the laying of the U.S. Capitol’s cornerstone and completion of its current dome? 3. Name the shortest U.S. president. 4. Identify three of the five zones of Earth’s surface.

DEAR HELOISE: I read in a novel that you can polish silver flatware by bringing water containing aluminum foil to a boil. When boiling, place tarnished flatware in the water and add 1/4 cup baking soda. Boil for a few minutes.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City P resident Thomas Hoenig said Wednesday that U.S. regulators should avert another crisis by breaking up large financial institutions that pose a threat “to our capitalistic system.” “I am convinced that the existence of too-big-to-fail financial institutions poses the greatest risk to the U.S. economy,” Hoenig said in a speech in Washington.

Rescuers broadened their search of collapsed buildings in New Zealand’s quake-shattered city of Christchurch today, as hopes faded of finding any more survivors in the hardest-hit office blocks downtown.

A bill to keep illegal aliens from getting publicly funded benefits was rejected by a state House of Representatives committee Wednesday despite repeated requests by the sponsor for an opportunity to change the bill.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I am convinced that the existence of too big-to-fail financial institutions poses the greatest risk to the U.S. economy.” Thomas Hoenig Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Article, 1D

Deltic’s 4th-quarter profit is $1.3 million El Dorado-based Deltic Timber reported a profit of $1.3 million, or 10 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, down from $3.7 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. The 2009 fourth-quarter profit — primarily due to sale of an 18-acre commercial site — was the same as that year’s annual profit.

Let us present one of those columns in which I reveal reader criticisms and respond to them. I offer these either when criticisms are so inane that they provide comedic entertainment and make me look good by comparison, or, more rarely, when criticisms are sufficiently substantive and credible that I feel a need to explain or amend.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “There is now an operating room for the militaries of all the liberated cities and they are trying to convince the others to join them. They are trying to help the people in Tripoli to capture Gadhafi.” Lt. Col. Omar Hamza, a Libyan army officer who had allied with the rebels Article 1A

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed DOMA.” Attorney General Eric Holder, after President Barack Obama decided that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and will no longer defend it in court Article, 1A

A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday gave Lindsay Lohan roughly two weeks to decide if she will fight or take a plea deal in a felony grand-theft case. Either decision could send the Mean Girls star back behind bars. Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz told Lohan he would sentence her to jail if she accepted a plea deal involving the theft of a $2,500 necklace from an upscale jewelry store.

Susan Guy, a Domino’s pizza delivery driver in Memphis who is credited with saving a customer who’d fallen at home, told NBC’s Today show that she became concerned when she found out Jean Wilson had gone three days without ordering her daily pizza, adding that she suspected something was wrong in part because her own mother had twice fallen and been unable to get up.

An Arkansas lawmaker pushing to ban most state services for illegal immigrants on Wednesday amended his proposal to exempt prenatal care from the benefits banned, but still faced heavy opposition from state officials and advocates who say it could pose a health risk to the state.

The U.S. government on Wednesday accused two Iranian officials of being involved in what it called "serious human rights abuses" and blocked access to any assets the two might have in American financial institutions.

Federal regulators said Wednesday the number of banks on their confidential "problem" list increased by 24 in the final quarter of last year, even as the industry continued to heal with the recovering economy.

With the closure of four major employers in Union County leading to almost 3,000 job losses over the past decade, the El Dorado Promise scholarship program hasn’t been enough to stave off a steady population decline.

Leaders of the Fayetteville Animal Shelter explained Tuesday why they believe a city-county partnership to construct a shelter near the Washington County Detention Center does not make financial sense for the city.

Information for the obituaries and funeral notices below was supplied to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Advertising Department by funeral homes. For more information including cost and deadlines contact the advertising department at (501) 378-3889.

Poor conditions on county roads and the future of the old Benton County Courthouse were the main topics raised by county residents Tuesday night at the first “County Hall” meeting organized by County Judge Bob Clinard.

A man suspected of attempting to burglarize the Tiff City, Mo., branch of The Cornerstone Bank was arrested early Saturday after he was found in the bank’s attic by a McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Sam Walton built Walmart by being a low-cost leader. Mike Duke, Walmart president and chief executive officer, hopes returning to that philosophy will rejuvenate U.S. sales. The retailer posted a seventh consecutive quarter of decreasing same-store sales Tuesday.

Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi vowed Tuesday to “die as a martyr” in his country rather than surrender power, as he sought to rally supporters against a growing popular uprising that has taken over much of eastern Libya and won the backing of some army units and government officials.

With their Senate colleagues still in hiding, Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly began introducing a barrage of 100 amendments Tuesday to try to stymie the Republican governor’s plan to strip unionized public employees of most of their bargaining rights.

In other cases at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, justices : Heard arguments in the case of a woman who tried to poison her husband’s pregnant lover by spreading toxic chemicals around the woman’s house and car and was sent to prison under a federal anti-terrorism law for using “chemical weapons.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, DNev., said Tuesday that he will introduce a temporary spending measure to keep the government operating into early April, an effort to buy time for negotiations on a longer-term agreement.

For more than four decades, Moammar Gadhafi was the face of Libya. He withstood international isolation and U.S. airstrikes, managing to claw his way back to a degree of acceptance by the global community.

Tens of thousands of red-andwhite draped, flag-waving protesters flooded Bahrain’s capital Tuesday in a show of force against the monarchy as the king made another concession to the marchers by releasing dozens of political prisoners.

The presidents of the University of Arkansas System, Henderson State University in Arkadelphia and Mid-South Community College in West Memphis told a Senate committee Tuesday that they oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a board to control the state’s higher-education system.

Grammy-winning reggae singer Buju Banton was convicted Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., of conspiring to set up a cocaine deal in 2009. A federal jury deliberated for 11 hours over two days on the fate of Banton, who won a Grammy last week for best reggae album for Before the Dawn.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We need to sit down and have an adult conversation with them across a conference table and figure out how we’re going to fund the government for the rest of the year.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose top aide will open private talks with the office of House Speaker John Boehner Article, this page

QUOTE OF THE DAY “From now on, anyone who tries to rescue the hostages in our hands will only collect dead bodies. It will never ever happen that hostages are rescued and we are hauled to prison.” Pirate Muse Abdi, after the deaths of four Americans who had been taken hostage Article, 7A

Walton Arena has been less than half full for 12 of Arkansas’ 16 home games this season. “That’s what happens when you build a 20,000-seat arena and things go south,” Nolan Richardson said. “You create that monster, and now you’ve got to feed it, and sometimes you run out of food. And when you run out of food, he’s hungry.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 23, 1911 Washington’s birthday was observed as flag day all over Arkansas, and 10,000 miniature Confederate battle flags were sent out over the state to be sold to bring additional funds for the Confederate reunion. Late last night Chas McKee, chairman of the Subscription Committee, had not heard from any of the towns where the flags were sent, but said he was confident that quite a large part of the number sent out had been sold.

With apologies to the shade of Walter Winchell. The reader, tolerant as ever, will just have to imagine the sound of the teletype key—or was it a radio beep?—that America’s chief gossip columnist and ego at the time used to give his telegraphic prose a fabricated drama. Be assured I wore a fedora, Winchell’s trademark, while writing this column—an assertion as reliable as any of Mr. Winchell’s.

You’ve probably heard politicians fret that state governments—or, worse, the federal government—will default on their debts. House Speaker John Boehner called the prospect of a federal default “a financial disaster not only for our country but for the worldwide economy.”

Close retirement loophole As a member of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, a classroom teacher for 28 years and a retiree for 14 years, I wish to comment on Kay Williams’ letter regarding House Bill 1040.

GOLF Arkansas women finish 11th Arkansas senior Kelli Shean shot back-to-back rounds of 72 leading the No. 13 Razorbacks to 11th place at the Central District Invitational Tuesday in Parrish, Fla. Shean tied for 10th overall, shooting a three-round total of 219. Freshman Emily Tubert tied for 30th overall at 226 followed by sophomore Victoria Vela, who tied for 50th at 230. Emma Lavy tied for 62nd at 234 and Rachel Carpenter was 72nd at 246. Sixteenth-ranked Iowa State won with a four-over 868.

FOOTBALL Bailey gets 4-year deal The Denver Broncos have signed Champ Bailey to a four-year deal, keeping the perennial Pro Bowl cornerback off the free agent market. Bailey, who turns 33 in June, just played in his 10th Pro Bowl, a record for cornerbacks. His new deal is believed to be worth between $40 million and $44 million.

Testimony in a hearing requested by a creditor of Fayetteville real estate broker John David Lindsey on Tuesday focused on the accuracy of financial documents submitted to the company for the lease of $2 million in equipment in April 2008.

Whirlpool Corp. will claim $300 million this year in U.S. tax credits for making energy-efficient appliances, collecting almost four times the government’s estimate for what all companies would receive from the tax incentive.

Nolan Richardson addressing the Northwest Arkansas Tip-Off Club on Tuesday before tonight’s Arkansas-Kentucky game at Walton Arena evoked memories of the greatest conference rivalry these eyes witnessed over 38 years of covering the Razorbacks.

How do they melt? GOOEY. These cheeses are stretchy and gooey when melted. We call them the “Superior Melting Cheeses.” American Velveeta (though technically not cheese) Havarti Mozzarella Cheddar Swiss Colby Monterey Jack Provolone Fontina Gruyere.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Some of the pricing and merchandising issues in Wal-Mart ran deeper than we initially expected, and they require a response that will take time to see results.” Mike Duke, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart stores Inc., in a statement Article, 1D

Chesapeake Energy earns $180 million Chesapeake Energy Corp., the natural-gas producer that has agreed to sell $7.65 billion in assets in the past five months, posted a fourth-quarter profit as it ramped up its oil production.

Reports from Libya Monday were sketchy and confused, but one conclusion appeared certain: The beleaguered dictatorship of Moammar Gadhafi was waging war against its own people and committing atrocities that demand not just condemnation but action by the outside world.

“I can’t complain, but sometimes I still do.” —Joe Walsh YOU PROBABLY know people who aren’t happy unless they’re complaining. They’re the sort who’d complain that the twenty they just found in a coat pocket wasn’t a fifty. Pay them a compliment (“I like the paint job you did on the kitchen” ) and they’ll find something wrong about it (“It took me a week and I don’t like the color” ).

Even if you have a stand or hand-held mixer, Tupperware’s Whip ’N Prep Chef may tempt you. It’s lightweight, holds 5 1/2 cups, disassembles easily for cleaning and needs no electricity. What does it need? Some muscle (not much, honest). It took us roughly 50 or so turns to whip up a half pint of whipping cream. Two egg whites took the same amount of effort for lovely stiff peaks. A nonskid base helps.

Mulberry Police Chief Joshua Craig said he hopes to get a report by week’s end from the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock on the identity of human remains found over the weekend near a creek in Mulberry.

It’s no secret that our pets are often as loved and spoiled as our children. We have a yellow lab/shepherd mix named Daisy that we adopted from the Sherwood Animal Shelter a couple of years ago. And while she’s not quite as spoiled as my son, Alex, she ranks a close second.

Going to the dentist is still not most youngsters’ idea of a good time. But kids these days have the benefit of gentler treatments, better pain and anxiety control — and even video games — that weren’t available when their parents were growing up.

Advocacy by special-interest groups is part of the legislative process in Arkansas, and the push-pull of opposing viewpoints in the 88th General Assembly is amply illustrated in how two groups are reacting to a pair of bills aimed at preventing illegal aliens from sharing in certain benefits.

Despite requests from defense attorneys to postpone next Monday’s sentencing hearings for Dr. Randeep Mann and his wife, Sangeeta “Sue” Mann, both proceedings remained on the court schedule as of Tuesday evening.

A prosecutor said Tuesday that James Aaron Miller deserves the death penalty for strangling his girlfriend and her two children, but the convicted killer’s attorneys asked jurors for a life sentence instead.

A pirate fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. Navy destroyer shadowing a hijacked yacht with four Americans aboard Tuesday. Then gunfire rang out, the military said. U.S. special forces rushed to the yacht only to find the four Americans fatally wounded.

It’s a typical reality for a military wife. She’s young, about 19. She’s in a foreign country, say Germany. And she’s about to give birth to her first child while her husband is deployed in Iraq. She could easily feel lonely. But that’s hardly the case. Other military spouses won’t let her feel alone. Megan Glynn, for one, won’t let her.

Cameron Adams was too much for Rogers High this go around. Rogers limited Adams to six points in a 43-40 victory last month, but the Fort Smith Southside senior made his first seven shots Tuesday and finished with 17 points as the Rebels defeated the Mounties 47-26 in a 7A-West Conference game in King Arena.

An investigation into claims that international troops killed scores of civilians in northeast Afghanistan escalated into a feud Tuesday between President Hamid Karzai and senior U.S. military officials who cited a report that Afghan parents have been known to discipline children by burning their hands and feet.

What would you give to know the 10 most important things you can do to have close, loving relationships with your children and to increase your children’s ability to be happy, healthy and successful in life? How about just giving yourself time to read this column?

People injured by vaccines that they say were improperly designed must rely solely on a compensation system created by a 1986 law and may not sue vaccine manufacturers, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

So last week, I participated in my first-ever Cookie Drop. This, my friends, is the day that an 18-wheeler pulls up to the National Guard’s Fisher Amory and - after lots of nice guardsmen have used forklifts to unload several thousand cases of Girl Scout cookies - troop leaders and parent volunteers scurry into action.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported Tuesday that fourthquarter net income rose more than 27 percent for the period ending Jan. 31, even as the world’s largest retailer recorded its seventh straight decline in a key sales measure.

Q: Over Christmas, our 28-month-old daughter stopped napping. A couple of days we were so busy with Christmas that a nap simply was not possible. Now, we put her in her crib for her to nap, and she spends 1 1/2 to 2 hours in there, wide awake, playing and talking to herself, and then we take her out. I know we cannot force her to sleep, but is there some way we can get her to want to sleep and take a nap again?

Happy birthday. You’ll be highly motivated to develop your skills and talents this year. In April, new encouragement comes in the form of a special relationship. May brings an emphasis on religion, education and cultural pursuits.

1. What is the scene in the movie Casablanca in which Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) first says “I stick my neck out for nobody” ? 2. Name the edible nut of the hazel tree. 3. After Rhode Island, what is the smallest state in area in the United States? 4.What was the nickname of William Frederick Cody, who lived from 1846-1917 ?

Can cats have asthma? My cat Maxwell wheezes and sometimes has a cough. I’m worried about him. Cats can have asthma, but the symptoms mimic those of other conditions and diseases so it’s sometimes misdiagnosed as pneumonia, congestive heart failure or heartworms.

A few days ago I did something I don’t normally do. I took two of our three kids out shopping. Typically I arrange to shop solo because little kids aren’t big on browsing and tend to suck the joy out of the whole experience. But I figured I could make the trip quick since all I needed was a new toaster.

The letter by Zack Blake (“Fluoridation is problematic,” Feb. 5) was interesting. In the 1950s I was in technical charge of the water to a small town. There was a suggestion that the water be fluoridated. My reaction was to find out about the results.

Out of principle, we cannot support something as restrictive of private property use as Fayetteville’s proposed streamside protection ordinance before there’s at least an attempt at a voluntary program.

One of New Zealand's biggest cities lay in ruins Tuesday after a powerful earthquake toppled tall buildings and churches on a busy weekday, killing at least 65 people in the country's worst natural disaster in decades.

Four Americans taken hostage by Somali pirates off East Africa were shot and killed by their captors Monday, the U.S. military said, marking the first time U.S. citizens have been killed in a wave of pirate attacks plaguing the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean for years.

Information for the obituaries and funeral notices below was supplied to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Advertising Department by funeral homes. For more information including cost and deadlines contact the advertising department at (501) 378-3889.

The American arrested in Pakistan after shooting two men at a crowded traffic stop was part of a covert, CIA-led team of operatives conducting surveillance on militant groups deep inside the country, according to U.S. government officials.

Deep cracks opened in Moammar Gadhafi’s regime Monday, with Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigning and air force pilots defecting, after clashes in the capital of Tripoli. Protesters called for another night of defiance against the Arab world’s longest-serving leader despite a crackdown.

No resolution appeared imminent Monday to the stalemate over union rights in Wisconsin, leaving Senate Republicans resigned to forge ahead with less-contentious business such as tax breaks for dairy farmers and commending the Green Bay Packers on winning the Super Bowl.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to an Afghan government office Monday, killing at least 30 people — many who were waiting in line to obtain government identification cards, police said.

Ronda Holder of Tampa, Fla., said she and her husband have tried everything to get their 15-year-old to shape up academically with no results, so last week she made James Mond III wear for nearly four hours a sign that said, among other things, “GPA 1.22... honk if I need education.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY “You have shut down the people’s government, and that is not acceptable.” Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald to Democratic senators who left the state to prevent a vote on a budget repair bill Article, this page

Wrapping up the Asian leg of her world tour, Taylor Swift is relishing her growing international appeal as the singer-songwriter steadily gains fan outside the United States with her combination of confessional lyrics and country sound.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 22, 1911, Running on a platform favoring open gambling, W.W. Waters, former mayor, received a majority of votes cast at today’s Democratic primaries and was nominated for mayor, defeating a field of three other candidates.

September 17, 1796. . . . The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize.

A modern revolution never seems to end. Look at the French Revolution, which set the pattern. When those observing the 200th anniversary of that revolution gathered, they soon splintered into much the same factions that had emerged at the time of The Revolution itself: not just monarchists and republicans but ideologues from all points on the revolutionary spectrum.

WAIT A minute, didn’t we just celebrate Washington’s Birthday yesterday? Yes, but that was his birthday on the legal calendar, even though he tends to be thrown in with all the other presidents who are honored on what’s now loosely called Presidents’ Day—presumably in honor of them all.

With freedom comes duty After the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy last year, I reflected on the eulogies by his political allies and foes alike. All were very gracious and civil, unlike much public discourse these days.

My take on the 2010 Census results in Arkansas, without boring you with lengthy interpretative blather: Our state is losing folks in about half its counties, mostly in the south and east, as Arkansas’ increasing population overall has coalesced around the central counties as well as those along the northwest Interstate 540 quadrant beginning at Fort Smith and stretching to the Missouri border.

Jess Jackson bred one Preakness winner to another on Monday. Jackson, owner of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, arranged for the two to meet in a breeding shed at Lane’s End Farm, near Versailles, Ky., on Monday.

Without publicly disclosing any numbers, the St. Louis Cardinals made an offer to Albert Pujols last week, which they called their “best” offer. Supposedly there will be no more Pujols contract negotiations until after the 2011 World Series, when he becomes a free agent.

A legal challenge to Arkansas’ use of an execution drug allegedly purchased in England is a time-wasting tactic by eight inmates to delay their executions as long as possible, state attorneys said in the latest legal filings.

Google has for years fought claims its mapping and photography services infringed on personal privacy. Now the Internet giant is facing concerns from Israel that the technology could be used for terrorism.

The snooze button is a close friend to most high school students, but every day when most teenagers are hitting it for a second or third time on a school day, Shiloh Christian sophomore Darian Harris has already been awake and productive for an hour.

Arkansas senior center Delvon Johnson suffered a hip pointer at Alabama last Saturday night, but Razorbacks Coach John Pelphrey said Johnson is “probable” to play against No. 22 Kentucky on Wednesday night at Walton Arena.

Arkansas is one of numerous schools vying for the services of one of the top prospects in Florida, defensive back Travis Blanks. Blanks, 6-1, 194, 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Tallahassee, (Fla.) North Florida Christian has more than 20 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State.

Better late than never for Cano New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano reported to spring training Sunday morning in Tampa, Fla. What he didn’t know, however, was that practice actually started on Saturday.

We were deeply saddened to learn last week that a 5-year-old boy had perished in an apartment fire in Rogers on Valentine’s Day. According to his obituary, Brenden Poe loved to sing and to play sports, and he was very popular among his friends at ABC Happy Kids in Rogers. He was preparing to enter kindergarten this fall.

BASKETBALL
Source: Knicks to get Anthony The New York Knicks have agreed to a trade with the Denver Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday night.

FOOTBALL
New conference chase begins Sept. 3 The first quest for a Great American Conference football championship will begin Sept. 3, when four teams play a pair of games that will count toward conference standings for the first time, the new league announced Monday.

Pat Summitt keeps reminding her Tennessee players that they haven’t won anything big yet. The way the Lady Volunteers have plowed through their SEC schedule this season, she may need a new way to motivate them.

DEAR CAROLYN: I have two boys, 6 and 4. The 6-year old is autistic. Both are highly energetic and our household is generally filled with noise and energy. When my in-laws visit, they tell us we are not strict enough, don’t feed our kids enough healthy foods, and let our kids watch too much TV.

Happy birthday. You find balance this year and are able to create satisfaction in several areas of your life at once. Before the week is over, you’ll receive a gift to commemorate your progress.The next six weeks show you in romantic settings, sharing your heart.You’ll make deals and impress your family in May. Capricorn and Gemini people adore you.

European countries sent planes and ferries to Libya on Monday to evacuate their citizens, and some international oil and gas companies pulled their foreign staff out and suspended operations, as anti-government protests spread to Tripoli for the first time.

An October concert promoted as a fundraiser for transporting a Pearl Harbor surviving tugboat to North Little Rock and to aid the state’s veterans provided “zero funds” to those causes, Mayor Patrick Hays said.

Some obituaries may appear in certain editions of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and not in others. This list shows the names of all people whose obituaries are in at least one edition. For obituaries not in this edition, please see our website, Arkansas Online, at arkansasonline.com/obituaries/.

Now that Springdale Snowmageddon of 2011 has past, I feel so much wiser and prepared for the next record snowstorm. Of course, it will probably be 20 years and the lessons learned will be for my grandchildren, but nonetheless, I am wiser. Or, at least I like to think so.

RANGERS Young: No distraction SURPRISE, Ariz. — Michael Young had a message for his teammates before the AL champion Texas Rangers held their first full-squad workout Sunday and he took grounders at second base for the first time in several years. “He said he wasn’t going to be a distraction.

Who could have guessed that 4.3 billion Internet connections wouldn’t be enough? Certainly not Vint Cerf. In 1976, Cerf and his colleagues in the research and development office of the Defense Department had to make a judgment call: How much network address space should they allocate to an experiment connecting computers in an advanced data network?

Arkansas teams haven’t simultaneously won the SEC Indoor Men’s and SEC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships since 2003 when the women Razorbacks were still called the Lady Razorbacks With Lance Harter’s women’s team up and coming, and third-year coach Chris Bucknam’s men’s team coming off successive SEC Indoor championships, the Razorba cks have cause to think they can win both championships when Arkansas hosts them Friday through Sunday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville.

Give credit to the Obama administration for acknowledging that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be phased out. The Treasury offered three options for how to do that, but didn’t say which one it favored.

FOLKS UP in this part of the state might want to hold off on that new bicycle and set aside the backpacks, at least for a while longer. It looks like that much-anticipated 36-mile system of bike trails linking Fayetteville with Bella Vista won’t be getting that $15 million in federal help after all.

U.S. retail sales of video game consoles and software dropped 4 percent in January, but the falloff would have been larger if not for the burgeoning popularity of Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2 and other dancing games, experts said.

The following state, federal and local government offices’ schedules may be affected by the George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day holiday: GARBAGE COLLECTION Bella Vista: Regular routes today.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 21, 1911 Mayor W.R. Duley was granted an indefinite leave of absence. Alderman John S. Odom was elected acting mayor and the ordinance passed allowing the Rock Island Railway Company the right to build a freight depot at Third and Byrd streets, after which the council, which met last night, spent most of the remainder of a two-hour session in historical arguing of the merits and demerits of the rails being used by the Little Rock Railway and Electric Company.

Marlon Blackwell, distinguished professor of architecture at the University of Arkansas’ Fay Jones School of Architecture, has been selected as the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia School of Architecture in Charlottesville, Va.

The Palestinian prime minister appealed Sunday to the rival Hamas group to join him in a united government, offering to allow the Islamic militants to retain security control of the Gaza Strip until elections later this year.

After anti-government unrest spread to the Libyan capital and protesters seized military bases and weapons Sunday, Moammar Gadhafi’s son went on state television to proclaim that his father remained in charge with the army’s backing and would “fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.”

Wisconsin Republicans on Sunday increased the pressure on Democrats who fled to Illinois to return home and vote on a bill that would limit public employees’ collective-bargaining rights, with the governor calling them obstructionists and a GOP lawmaker threatening to convene without them.

Barely 2 years old, Freddy Bradford survived torture, a Pulaski County circuit judge said in sending a Little Rock man to prison Thursday for abusing the boy while warning the toddler’s mother that she would join him if she violates her probation.

There are only nine Congressional Gold Medals honoring the students who made history in 1957 when they integrated Little Rock Central High School, and one of the medals now has a permanent home on exhibit in the Clinton Presidential Center.

Tribal elders in a remote part of northeastern Afghanistan claimed Sunday that NATO forces killed 64 civilians in air and ground strikes over the past four days. The international coalition denied the claim, saying video showed troops targeting and killing dozens of insurgents.

The Tunisian government presented Saudi Arabian authorities Sunday with a formal request to extradite ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, according to a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Chinese authorities wary of any domestic dissent staged a show of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious online call for a “Jasmine Revolution,” with only a handful of people joining protests apparently modeled on the pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East.

Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was briefly detained for chanting anti-government slogans in Tehran, the IRNA news agency said, but police denied there were any opposition rallies to mark the deaths of two protesters in clashes with security forces a week before.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I think it’s time that the governor recognizes that he can’t always have everything he wants, and it’s time for him to sit down and treat the workers with respect.” Mark Miller, Wisconsin Senate Democratic leader Article, 1A

Leonardo DiCaprio, the Oscarnominated U.S. actor, will assume the title role in a remake in Australia of The Great Gatsby after Sydney beat New York to produce the movie. Baz Luhrmann will direct the Warner Bros.-backed film, based on the 1920s novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the production will inject more than $120 million into the state’s economy, the New South Wales government said in a statement.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “As a Libyan citizen, I absolutely cannot be quiet about these crimes.” Abdel-Monem al-Houni, Libya’s former Arab League representative, who quit to join the revolt in the country Article, 1A

A mere three years ago, the IBM computer now known as Watson was a Jeopardy!- playing fool. And that’s putting it mildly. Watson had the verbal skills of a toddler. It botched the solutions to the game-show clues with howlers that filled IBM’s research lab with laughter—and raised deep concern.

With his latest budget, President Barack Obama reveals that he cares little about the poor and working class in the United States. The proposed $3.73 trillion budget targets “nondefense discretionary spending,” including many programs that benefit lowincome Americans.

The 7A-West Regional Tournament table is set for the girls and boys teams from the Northwest Arkansas Conference. But where they will sit is still up in the air for many of the eight teams — four girls and four boys.

Expand drug testing For the benefit of Sen. Bill Pritchard, Rep. Denny Altes and the 48 other legislators who co-sponsored Senate Bill 157, an act to require that applicants for and recipients of unemployment benefits test negative for illegal drug use: I take issue with the bill because it requires the drug test to be paid for by the applicant.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies didn’t target a Los Angeles Times journalist who was shot in the head with a tear-gas missile 41 years ago, but made mistakes that led to his death, according to a draft report by a civilian agency.

Claim pays dividend for trainer Owner/trainer Jack Frost of Marianna recorded his first career stakes victory when long shot Salty Wave flew home to win the $60,000 Spring Fever for older fillies and mare sprinters Sunday afternoon at Oaklawn Park.

SUN BELT VIRGINIA 8, ARKANSAS STATE 2 AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas State (0-3 ) committed six errors in a loss to Virginia (3-0 ) in its final game of the Auburn Tournament at Plainsman Park. Virginia scored two runs in the first and second innings to take a 4-0 lead, but ASU cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the seventh on Todd Baumgartner’s two-run double.

Arkansas is still the only visiting team to win this season at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym, where the Commodores are 14-1 Three weeks after the Razorbacks knocked off Vanderbilt 89-78, it looked like they might pull another surprise on Saturday night and become the first visiting team to beat Alabama at Coleman Coliseum.

GOLF Baddeley wins at Riviera Aaron Baddeley won the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles on Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory in four years. Baddeley, 29, held off Vijay Singh and 51-yearold Fred Couples, who was trying to become the oldest P GA Tour winner in more than 35 years.

It’s time to shear the Beard Ungroomed and unmatched, Brett Keisel’s beard has taken on a life of its own. There are two Facebook pages dedicated to it, along with a Twitter account. There are also T-shirts, with some commanding fans to “Respect the Beard!” and others to “Fear the Beard!” Underneath all that hair? Another beard.

On an outcrop near the lighthouse in Urk, a woman in stone perpetually scans the horizon for the fishing fleet returning home. To the dismay of townspeople, her view may soon be obscured by some of the world’s tallest wind turbines.

A pocket-size drone dubbed the Nano Hummingbird for the way it flaps its tiny robotic wings has been developed as a spy plane capable of maneuvering almost invisibly on the battlefield or in urban areas.

Business in the Internet age means a lot of documents flying across the Internet. Many of those, be they forms, reports or publications, are in a universal format called Portable Document Format, or PDF.

Could finishing a 5K change a woman’s life? Yes, says Linda Fason, and without hesitation. But a 5K is only 3.1 miles. Every October, 45,000 women walk that distance in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Little Rock, and hardly any of them even bothers to train. They manage the distance. What’s life changing about that?

Anybody who was planning to sign up for the Little Rock Marathon or its half-marathon can forget that for this year. The 13.1-mile race filled up Tuesday (reaching 3,700 racers), and the marathon accepted its 2100th racer Thursday.

Here’s something you probably never expected a personal trainer to say: If you get up from your desk and walk around a little every 20 minutes or so, it’ll help your body more than a 45-minute session at the gym.

Tinkering with the standard set-up of a traditional exercise is no longer a surprising and strange thing to do. Whether you’re using a counterbalanced weight or simply adjusting your posture for a body-weight move, modification of an old standby is a commonplace approach.

The meet-cute. The fights. The love triangles. The over-the-top, sweeps month weddings. The years upon years of sexual tension drawn out to a ridiculous degree all in the name of ratings. Ain’t TV love grand?

Find the practical difference between these two statements: “We can afford this increase in health spending because cost savings will pay for it.” “We can afford this cut in tax revenues because economic growth will pay for it.” The answer is: None, to all practical purposes.

DEAR REV. GRAHAM: Did Jesus ever commit sin? No one is perfect, so I have a hard time imagining that He didn’t sin, but I’ve also heard that Christians believe He was perfect. How was that possible? — K.P.

Happy birthday. You’ll be entrusted with greater responsibility this year and will have more power to wield, as well. Your attitude of modesty and service will help you transition into this new realm with grace. Friends get you into new hobbies and interests in June.You’ll do some of your best work to date in August. Aries and Virgo people are devoted and loving.

Dear Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority Board of Directors: We are writing in response to statements made by the NACA Executive Director John Sampier which appeared in the Jan. 25 edition of the newspaper.

Why local businesses fail. I have been selling online for over 10 years now. EBay, Amazon, a few other sites. In my 10-plus years, the only “theft” I have encountered is when an item is not delivered by the Postal Service, and the delivery tracking even says so.

Sunday, February 20

Spin Cycle presents another installment of “All the News That’s Fit to Razz” ... Prior to being carried onstage in a giant egg at the Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga admitted to whiskey drinking and pot smoking during a 60 Minutes interview.

Bigger numbers won’t necessarily mean big changes for Benton County’s smaller cities and towns. While most of the county’s municipalities grew during the last decade, the results of the 2010 U.S. Census show growth wasn’t evenly distributed across the county, either in numbers or in the rate of growth. Among the smaller towns and cities, growth can bring in additional revenue through the county sales tax and state turnback money. And growth can also change the shape of city government.

Nearly 40 percent of more than 8,400 students who attend North-West Arkansas Community College live in Washington County. That’s why the college is in the early stages of expanding services there, said Steve Gates, the college’s vice president of advancement.

A $15 million grant for a 36-mile bicycle trail through Northwest Arkansas was cut early Saturday in a U.S. House vote to slash more than $60 billion from the federal budget, said a spokesman for 3rd District Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers.

Offices at the Jones Center overlook a garden, parking lots and a stream of airplanes landing at the Springdale Municipal Airport.
“I can look up from my desk and see the planes all the time,” said Kelly Kemp-McLintock, the center’s chief advancement officer. “It’s never been a problem.” The flight path to the runway passes about 300 feet from the offices and about 200 feet from the Jones Center chapel. Lights marking the path are installed through the parking lot. On Feb. 12, a small airplane crashed at the foot of the last light on the Jones Center grounds.

Residents got a chance Saturday to air their views and have some of their questions answered about whether a prepared-food tax should be enacted to fund the Fort Smith Convention Center. City officials and convention center backers were among 40 people who attended an informal 90-minute forum Saturday morning at Sweet Bay Coffee Co. at 3400 Rogers Ave.

A capital-gains tax cut approved in the Arkansas House of Representatives last week could drain millions from the state budget and hurt higher education funding, a NorthWest Arkansas Community College trustee said Saturday.

Shauna Christensen had led a life marked by despair. The single mother had a challenging childhood as the daughter of an alcoholic mom; Christensen herself became a mom while still in her teens. She recounted for a gala audience being homeless and living in her truck, making choices that landed her in trouble with the law and running away from her problems.

“A parent working the nightshift at a factory... can’t take time off to lobby to make sure their child has access to pre-K programs,” says Laura Kellams, Northwest Arkansas director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. “But we can.”

Dear Mr. Wolff: How does the rule of 11 work if your opponents play thirdand-lowest leads, not fourth highest? — Number Cruncher, Texarkana, Texas Dear Reader: Just to clarify for nonexperts: With fourthhighest leads, third hand and declarer can subtract the spot-card lead from 11 to find out how many cards higher than the lead are held by the other three players.

What country wouldn’t want someone like Jonathan Chavez? By now you might have heard Chavez’s story. He’s the 21-year-old University of Arkansas student who just spent a month in a Florida jail because he is an illegal immigrant.

In response to Randy Alexander’s column “Defend your rights — Bill gives neutral approach to dealing with foreign rulings” (Feb. 6): Senate Bill 97 does NOT deserve our support. Mr. Alexander states, “The bill is not ‘anti’ any specific group or religion but is pro Arkansas Constitution and United States Constitution.” I am confident that most Arkansans agree that the Arkansas Legislature should only pass laws that are needed — that serve a genuine public goal. This law is not needed and it serves no public goal.

During the record two-foot snow and -19 degree weather, a relative called to see how we were faring. After I described the apocalyptic scenario, he laughed and quipped, “Here’s where we need Al Gore!” Right. Global warming. My relative’s implication — if we had global warming like Al Gore said, then we wouldn’t be having such cold weather.

Today’s column is a message to all working or nonworking people who voted Republican last year because it looked to you like Republicans were the best bets to go to Little Rock and lighten your tax load and help preserve your job or create you one.

A comprehensive new U.S. intelligence report concludes that Iran has resumed research on key components for a nuclear weapon, but that the slow and scattered nature of the effort reflects renewed debate within the regime over whether to build a bomb, U.S. officials said.

As I assume my new role as the chair of the board of trustees at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, I can’t help but reflect on the legacy of leadership shaped over the last 20 years by so many dedicated servant leaders. The emergence of this legacy was no accident. In fact, it was intentional and is a direct result of a long lasting commitment to stewardship of the college’s mission, the public’s trust, and quality education.

Madagascar’s ousted president was barred Saturday by officials in his homeland from returning from exile in South Africa, but the politician said at Johannesburg’s airport that he would keep trying to return.

KAMPALA, Uganda — Returns from Uganda’s presidential election announced Saturday showed President Yoweri Museveni with a huge lead over his rival, making it likely he will extend his 25-year hold on power. The top challenger said the results were not acceptable and was considering his options.

Too many women with abnormal mammograms or other breast problems are undergoing surgical biopsies when they should be having needle biopsies, which are safer, less invasive and cheaper, new research shows.

It is becoming a familiar tale of the Somali seas: A retired couple sets out for the trip of a lifetime, sailing around the world in a relatively small yacht, blogging all the way, sharing adventures of meeting people, seeing exotic locales and experiencing the thrill of being totally free.

Forrest City receiver Davyon “Sleepy” McKinney, Springdale offensive lineman Mitch Smothers and Malvern defensive lineman Grady Ollison are three of several Arkansas football signees who not only excel on the field but also at their after-school jobs.

Over the next few weeks, there will be much speculation. In fact, it has already started on some radio shows and in e-mails to yours truly. The fact is there is no magic number for John Pelphrey. There is only a magic athletic director. Jeff Long will determine if Pelphrey returns for a fifth season as the head basketball coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The following state, federal and local government offices’ schedules may be affected by the George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day holiday: GARBAGE COLLECTION Bella Vista: Regular routes Monday.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “They are part of my district, and they deserve to have a voice.” U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, about Hispanics whose numbers are growing in the 3rd Congressional District made up of Northwest Arkansas counties. Article, 1B

The Arkansas Board of Education has revoked the teaching license of one teacher and levied lesser penalties against six others — including two who were principals — for violating the state’s Code of Ethics for Arkansas Educators.

In a word, Arkansas Tech Coach Dave Wilbers chooses to describe Laura Beth Anderson as “reckless.” The Golden Suns’ senior guard doesn’t mind charging into a mass of larger post bodies, and doesn’t concern herself with what will happen once she takes off from the floor in an attempt for points.

A proposed state law to further restrict how close protesters can get to funerals moves to the Senate this week as the U.S. Supreme Court continues to study whether such protests are intentional attacks against grieving families or a form of protected free speech.

Jessica Lea Mayfield Tell Me Nonesuch A Jessica Lea Mayfield is a ball of contradictions: a young old soul, brooding yet quirky, passionate yet distant, folksy yet experimental. Those contradictions serve her well on her third solo album and the second to be produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.

A nonprofit group called Oxford House International paid $1,300 for state House Republican leader John Burris of Harrison to travel to Washington, D.C., for a conference last September, Burris disclosed on his annual personal financial report.

DEAR CAROLYN: My outlook on dating is very traditional — man courts woman and pays for dinner/drinks, etc. Then, after you figure out you truly want to continue to date, the woman offers to pay. The man I am dating seems a bit more on the equal end... I paid for last night, you pay for tonight.

Happy birthday. This year your awareness of others grows, and you’ll understand what the world needs most from you. You’ll clarify a career plan over the next six weeks. A goal that you make regarding family will bring good fortune in May.

In Oslo, Norway’s capital, a big statue of a tiger sits in front of the train station. A local once explained that Oslo is nicknamed the Tiger City because in the 19th century, when country boys would visit the wild and crazy “New York City of Norway,” it would “make a mark on their soul.” I find Oslo more of a kitten than a tiger.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 20, 1911 HELENA — The entire city of Helena may be paved if agreements are reached between the business men at a smoker to be given at the Cleburne Hotel in this city next Tuesday night. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the paving of the city and to then inaugurate a campaign with a view of immediately having the work done.

The media feeding frenzy over what colleague Derrick Goold aptly dubbed “Albertageddon ” is a vivid illustration of the times, when what not long ago would have been a significant but not overwhelming story becomes an epic production in which hundreds of thousands of words are written, uncounted hours of airtime are consumed and the social media world buzzes.

FIU puts rep on line for 0 for 4 In light of Garrett Wittels’ 56-game hitting streak ending Friday night, David J. Neal of The Miami Herald questions Florida International University’s decision to let the shortstop continue playing after he was charged with rape in the Bahamas last year.

FOOTBALL NFL, union hold mediation NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, union Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and members of their negotiating teams participated in a second consecutive sixhour session with a federal mediator Saturday, trying to spur progress less than two weeks before the league’s labor deal expires.

I grew up in a town of about 15,000 people in the middle of Nebraska. For most of the 1950s, North Platte was still waiting for its first television station. But movies? My little town had three movie theaters.

Security forces in Libya and Yemen fired on pro-democracy demonstrators Saturday as the two hard-line regimes struck back against the wave of protests that has already toppled autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia. At least 15 people died when police shot into crowds of mourners in Libya’s secondlargest city, a hospital official said.

The House early Saturday approved a package of spending cuts, slashing more than $60 billion from domestic programs, foreign aid and some military projects, as the new Republican majority made good on its pledge to act to shrink the size and scope of government.

A state Capitol thrown into political chaos swelled for a fifth day with nearly 70,000 protesters, as supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the collective-bargaining rights of state workers challenged pro-union protesters face to face for the first time, and GOP leaders insisted again Saturday that there was no room for compromise.

Hospitals in the state and across the nation will begin registering with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to qualify for Electronic Health Record Incentive Program payments set for distribution in May.

Daniel Navarrete greets friends with what seems an unlikely term of affection — he calls them “ox.” Navarrete, a 19-year-old snack vendor, isn’t being rude. Go anywhere in Mexico City and you can hear someone calling someone else “guey,” which means “ox” or “slow-witted.”

Before he started “saving the earth, one beer at a time,” all inventor Eric Fitch knew about home brewing was that it could make quite a mess. Once, he accidentally backed up the plumbing in his apartment building by dumping into his garbage disposal the spent grain left over from his India Pale Ale home brew.

Federal prosecutors have shelved a criminal investigation of Angelo Mozilo after determining that his actions in the mortgage meltdown — which led to a $67.5-million settlement against him — did not amount to criminal wrongdoing.

One of Sarah Palin’s trusted advisers is planning a tell-all memoir, drawing upon thousands of personal e-mails during his time with the former Alaska governor to paint what his agent calls an expose of the inner workings of her operation.

Zany scientist Beakman (aka Paul Zaloom) of the children’s television science show Beakman’s World will be onstage with a live-action show called Beakman on the Brain at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.

Homebuilders say one of the biggest advantages of buying a newly built house is energy efficiency. However, some of the ways that builders make houses burn less cash might not be as recognizable to buyers as say, kitchen appliances, generous closets and bathroom amenities.

Randy Loughner was always reclusive. But since his son was charged in a shooting rampage last month, the father has shut himself behind what one neighbor calls “an elaborate cage.” In recent weeks, Loughner has built a wooden enclosure, more than 6 feet high, obscuring his front door and windows.

The world’s dominant economies took a small step Saturday toward smoothing out the global trade and currency imbalances at the root of the global financial crisis, overcoming Chinese objections and setting the stage for even tougher negotiations in the months ahead.

Tyson Foods Inc. has nearly halved its hourly work-force turnover rate in the past three years using a combination of strategies built around what the company calls its three guideposts, its core values, cultural tenets and team-member bill of rights.

Abandoned groves and foreclosed properties across central Florida that were purchased by land speculators during the housing boom have become breeding grounds for a disease wreaking havoc on Florida’s $9 billion-a-year citrus industry.

Gunmen wearing explosives vests stormed a bank in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday as government employees were waiting to be paid, killing at least eight people and wounding scores of others in a standoff punctuated by deadly explosions.

Congestion in the skies above southern China’s bustling Pearl River delta region, home to five airports and thousands of manufacturers, is one of the world’s biggest air traffic control problems, an airline industry group said last week.

The turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has helped drive oil prices up to more than $102 a barrel for the benchmark Brent crude, but so far there have been no significant disruptions in production or supply, according to experts at the International Energy Agency.

Toyota celebrated the opening of an auto plant in a rural area of central Japan last week — its first new Japanese factory in 18 years and one that promises to grow into a significant production base for the world’s largest carmaker.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’re not here to argue or anything, just to support our governor and his decision.” Olivia Peach, a Wisconsin Tea Party supporter, on the debate over her state’s labor bill Article, 1A

QUOTE OF THE DAY “When they were really scared, they were happy to find a consensus. Now that many believe — wrongly — the crisis is behind us and they have domestic concerns... they’re less concerned by multilateral coordination.” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, International Monetary Fund managing director, on the deal the Group of 20 members reached to measure trade imbalances Article, 9A

Itried to stay interested in Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Barack Obama the other night. Honest I did. Duty called but, when I answered, it turned into what seemed a life sentence. On and on these two went, pausing at every familiar stop, but not for very long. Like the local to Glencoe.

One of the many strategic errors made by the Obama administration in the early days of 2009 was its decision to take on talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh—though it was, perhaps, hard to blame the president and his people for trying.

Aphone call from a new friend recently led me to thinking about resistance to the military draft in Arkansas during World War I. Having grown up in north-central Arkansas, my friend had heard stories about armed resistance to the draft.

After the revolution in Egypt, it has become a truism that the Internet can foster dissent and political freedom. But in a thoughtful speech last week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton put that observation in perspective and committed the United States anew to promoting the online exchange of ideas in other countries.

Think for a minute: Does the name Sylvander Dewberry Martin mean anything to you? I’m not really expecting it to ring any bells. It’s just that of all the names in my genealogical logbook, his is my favorite. It’s distinctive, you know? Or rather, it would be if we could ever decide just exactly what the name was.

A solution is near at hand Despite all the concern about our schools, no one seems to know what to do, yet we had the solution at one time. The problem is not with the facilities, the teachers, the parents or the students. The problem is with the material taught to the children of caring parents by good teachers in modern facilities.

Let the bidding begin. Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer, who catapulted from the dirt tracks of the Midwest to NASCAR stardom, enter the 2011 season in the final year of their contracts and are about to be two of the sport’s most attractive free agents.

The cost of clearing snow and ice from Arkansas highways during the winter storm season is threatening to break last season’s record of $11.5 million — an amount that’s more than twice what the state Highway and Transportation Department sets aside for plowing and sanding.

Residents of the tiny Dallas County town of Sparkman are trying to save their schools from dwindling enrollment and potential closure by promising to pay for college for their shrinking number of high school graduates.

The House on Friday voted to withhold funds for implementing President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul and to block a federal crackdown on for-profit colleges, as part of a Republican plan to cut at least $61 billion in spending this year.

Security forces opened fire Friday on Bahraini protesters for a second-straight day, wounding at least 50 people as thousands marched toward Pearl Square in an uprising that sought to break the political grip of the Persian Gulf nation’s leaders.

With tens of thousands of protesters jamming the Capitol and many Wisconsin schools closed for a third day, state troopers were enlisted Friday in the hunt for 14 Democratic state senators whose disappearance has prevented a vote on the new governor’s contentious budget proposal.

Broderick Laswell will spend the rest of his life in prison. A jury spared Laswell’s life Friday when it recommended he serve life in prison without the benefit of parole for his role in the murder of Randall Walker. The seven men and five women also recommended Laswell serve 60 years in prison for aggravated robbery.

Prosecutors will seek a new indictment against a Madison County man suspected of making a bomb that was found outside a Carroll County church in June, according to a motion filed Friday by a U.S. attorney.

About 20,000 jobs could be created for every $10 million lost in state revenue from this week’s capital gains tax cut by the state House of Representative, Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, told a group at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce 0n Friday.

In the popular imagination, on television and in the movies, law enforcement is a matter of crashing cars and high-caliber handguns. But in the real world, a microphone — and the person on the other end of it — may be an officer’s most valuable weapon. In Benton County, the voice on the other end of the radio comes from “CenCom,” the county’s Central Communications facility housed in the basement of the County Administration Building.

An amendment to a federal bill passed by the Senate on Thursday would cap how much Rogers has to pay for air traffic control, an expense set to go up sharply. The cap would also apply to the Springdale Municipal Airport, according to a news release from Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark, who made the amendment.

A Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy who used an electronic stun gun on a Springdale man said the man turned, broke off the weapon’s electricity-carrying leads and asked to be stunned with it again.

Students in the Fayetteville School District nearly escaped Saturday classes, but calendars released Friday show the region’s heavy snow and ice this month will force a Saturday makeup session March 5 for most students.

A judge Friday ordered the arrest of the driver of a U.S. vehicle that struck and killed a Pakistani while rushing to help an American detained in a pair of fatal shootings, a lawyer for the victim’s family said.

FOOTBALL Colts release Sanders Bob Sanders couldn’t stay healthy and the Indianapolis Colts couldn’t afford to keep investing in the oftinjured safety. Team owner Jim Irsay released the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year on Friday.

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 19, 1911 Thirty-four strong, the suffragettes of Little Rock marched upon the Constitutional Committee of the House of Representatives of the Arkansas General Assembly yesterday afternoon, only to find that the members of this committee had “silently folded their tents and stolen away,” with the exception of one lone Republican member, who stood before the advancing host and declared with fear and trembling that he knew nothing of an engagement the suffragettes declared that they had with the committee.

The U.S. on Friday vetoed a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would have declared Israel’s settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem to be illegal and demanded a halt to such activity.

Tens of thousands of Albanian opposition supporters marched peacefully through the capital Friday to demand the government resign over corruption allegations, almost a month after four people died when a similar demonstration turned violent.

Prosecutors will seek a new indictment against a Madison County man suspected of making a bomb that was found outside a Carroll County church in June, according to a motion filed Friday by a U.S. attorney.

The administrator of BP’s $20 billion Gulf oil spill fund announced new rules Friday on how final payments will be determined in the highly criticized claims process, but the central payment formula remained unchanged from a proposal released earlier this month.

BASEBALL THROWING MOTION STUDY: Baseball and softball catchers are needed for a research study by the University of Arkansas Sport Biomechanics Group for baseball and softball. The study analyzes the throwing motion and muscle activations when throwing to second base. For more information, contact Gretchen Oliver at goliver@uark.edu.

With weather that feels more like spring than winter these days, last week’s snowpocalypse seems like a distant memory now, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, let’s revisit that brief but brutal beating we took from Mother Nature.

Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation said Friday that the House was poised to pass legislation that would make spending cuts throughout the federal government. However, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, highlighting the prospects of a government shutdown if no agreement is reached.

Shortly before signing an agreement with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Little Rock on Friday, Mexico’s Consul for Arkansas addressed a crowded room of Mexicans waiting to meet with consular officials.

Referring to pending legislation as an attack on the Arkansas Professional Bail Bondsman Licensing Board, the seven-member panel unanimously approved motions Friday to oppose the bill and to give a vote of confidence for Chairman Curt Clark.

Egyptians thronged again to Tahrir Square on Friday, one week after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, in a victory celebration of dancing, singing and flag-waving, but also serious resolve to pressure the country’s military rulers to implement change.

The following state, federal and local government offices’ schedules may be affected by the George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day holiday: GARBAGE COLLECTION Bella Vista: Regular routes Monday.

Harry Black made his first conscious commitment to Christ as a 5- or 6-year-old child. He answered the altar call at a Southern Baptist church in Amarillo, Texas, impelled by a sudden recognition that he was not in a right relationship with God.

Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., has ordered state agencies to stop buying giveaway items, to help eliminate a $25 billion budget deficit, saying, “Not a cent of taxpayer money should be spent on flashlights, ashtrays or other unnecessary items, most of which likely end up in landfills.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY “It’s not pleasant to reduce spending. I get that.This is what the American people sent us here to do.This is what the American people elected 87 freshman Republicans to do, just this sort of thing.” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio Article, 1A

QUOTE OF THE DAY “It is too easy for Taliban to target foreigners through this way, and maybe he was someone sent by the Taliban.” Alam Khan, a member of the provincial council in Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, where a man dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire on German troops Article, this page